Commuters Rescue Man Who Fell Onto Tracks At Back Bay Station
BOSTON (CBS) - For at least a dozen people on the platform, it was not the everyday morning commute at Back Bay station in Boston. Four good Samaritans helped rescue a man who suddenly fell off the platform at track No. 3 and onto the Commuter Rail tracks.
"He was down in the well yelling, 'help', 'help'," said one of the rescuers who did not want to be identified. The man told MBTA police he was looking at his cell phone while walking on the platform.
Surveillance cameras capture the 49-year-old veering too close to the edge, toppling into the pit, then unsuccessfully trying to pull himself out.
WBZ-TV's Beth Germano reports
"He was standing in the well trying to grab hold of the surface. He was up to his neck in track," said the commuter who sprinted with three others to help the man.
"We all said, 'grab his arms'. It took the four of us to pull him up. We pulled and pulled and eventually got him onto the platform. While there was no train arriving at the moment, the rescuer says in the panic he didn't know how much time they really had.
"I kept praying, no train, no train." He says the victim told his rescuers he was visually impaired and trying to focus on his phone. It was a steep enough and sudden fall that left the rescuer shaken about what could have happened.
"If we hadn't been there he would have been toast." MBTA officials say there were no serious injuries, but he was transported to the hospital after claiming his hand and back hurt.
