[pauldun170]

New York man jumps to save subway rider - and get to work
Thu, Dec 02, 2010
Reuters




NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York grocery clerk, fearing he might be late for work, jumped onto city subway tracks to haul an injured passenger to safety after he fainted, authorities said.

The victim was taken to a local hospital after his rescue on Sunday by Carlos Flores, who said he leaped to save the man so he would not be late for work.

"I was thinking, if he gets hit I can't go to work. It's Sunday. I can't miss out. It's a time-and-a-half day," Flores was quoted as saying in the New York Daily News.

A Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokeswoman said the incident, while heroic, was dangerous.

"We do not recommend that people jump down to the roadbed," spokeswoman Deirdre Parker said on Monday.

The subway's third rail pumps 600 volts of electrical current, and climbing back onto the platform from the tracks is much harder than it looks, she said.