MTA Motorman Hailed As Hero After Rescue

NEW YORK (CBS 2) -- Many are calling an MTA motorman a hero Monday after his alert actions on the job saved the life of a subway rider.

MTA worker Frankie Lusk's grandfather was a train conductor, making him a second generation motorman. He scoffs at the idea that people are calling him a hero.

"I'm very, very embarrassed," he said in an interview. "I'm sure I'm turning bright red as I speak.

Others aren't so quick to write him off after hearing about what happened.

Lusk said he spotted the woman plummeting onto the tracks at a subway station at 59th Street and Fifth Avenue. He said his train was only 300 feet away when he slammed on the brakes.

"It was the first time I had every experienced a person on the tracks," he said.

The train came to a halt just 70 feet from the woman's body. He immediately called the control center to kill the power to the third rail and notify paramedics – then he jumped from the train to tend to the bleeding woman.

"She was conscious," he said. "I just asked her if she was alright. I told her help was on the way."

The woman was taken to a Manhattan Hospital where she is now recovering.

It remains a mystery as to how or why she was on the tracks, but it's no mystery why she's still alive.