Quick-Thinking MTA Workers Save Woman On Tracks
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Two Metropolitan Transportation Authority workers pulled off a subway save in Brooklyn on Thursday, rescuing a woman who was on the tracks seconds before a train would have hit her.
Not long after, they shared their story with CBS2's Marc Liverman.
"I see a lady standing there and she's looking at me and she's not moving and the train is barreling towards her," train operator Larry Moreno said.
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The train Moreno was operating was coming into the Newkirk Plaza subway station in Flatbush at 35 mph. Seconds before it came through, NYC Transit signal maintainer Anthony Mannino said he saw the lady right in the middle of the tracks.
"I noticed her on the tracks, people screaming and yelling," Mannino said.
But the woman was totally still.
"She wasn't saying anything. She wasn't screaming. She was just right in the middle of the tracks," Mannino said.
So with the train charging closer to the station, Mannino said he acted out of pure instinct.
"I had to jump on the road bed, get on the road bed and flag him to stop," he said.
He said he waved his arms so that Moreno would see them.
"Right away, I knew something was wrong, something was wrong, so I put the train in emergency," Moreno said.
Moreno said he slammed on the emergency brakes, but the train's momentum kept carrying it forward with the woman still on the tracks.
"She's just watching me and I say, 'Oh God, please stop the train. Stop, stop,'" Moreno said.
Finally, the train stopped, just three feet from her. Mannino said he was able to help the woman back onto the platform.
Mannino said the woman then started to exit the station, so he followed her and pleaded with her to wait for help.
But she just walked away.
Police are still looking for the woman, hoping to get her help.
As for being a hero, Mannino said he doesn't see it that way.
"I just didn't want anybody to get hurt on my watch. I didn't want anybody to get killed while I was there," he said. "I really believe it's God's way of saying, you know, she's got a second chance."
Mannino said he's just grateful he was able to play a part.