Commuter saves teen who fell on NY subway tracks

A US college student from Massachusetts who collapsed on subway tracks in New York City owes his life to a courageous and quick-thinking stranger.

Nineteen-year-old Cameron Hollopeter of Littleton fell on to the tracks at a Manhattan station after suffering a seizure.

Wesley Autrey saw the teenager fall on the tracks, which are a few feet below platform level. Autrey jumped down onto the tracks and rolled with Hollopeter into the rut between the rails as a southbound train was coming in.

The train’s operator hit the emergency brakes, but couldn’t stop in time. Two carriages of the train passed over the men, leaving about two inches to spare.

Neither man was injured.

After the dramatic rescue, onlookers cheered Autrey, a Vietnam veteran from Manhattan.

Hollopeter is a student at the New York Film Academy. His stepmother, Rachel Hollopeter, calls Autrey “an angel”.

“It’s all hitting me now,” Autrey said “I’m looking, and these trains are coming in now. … Wow, you did something pretty stupid.”

Even knowing that he had a narrow escape from injury or death, his 50-year-old Manhattanite rescuer does not regret his choice.

“I did something to save someone’s life,” the Navy veteran said.

The father of three was lauded for his quick thinking and even quicker reflexes.

Waiting for a downtown train on Tuesday, he saw Cameron Hollopeter, a 19-year-old film student, suffering from some kind of medical problem. After stumbling down the platform, Hollopeter, of Littleton, Massachusetts, fell onto the tracks with a train on its way into the station.

Autrey, travelling with his two young daughters, knew he had to do something.

He jumped down to the tracks and rolled with the young man into the trough between the rails as a southbound No. 1 train came into the station.

The trough, which is used for drainage, is typically about 12 inches deep but can be as shallow as eight or as deep as 24.

The unusual rescue brought the media horde to Autrey, who spent the day doing interviews. He planned to make the rounds of the morning television shows today, tape an appearance on David Letterman’s Late Show and visit City Hall to be honoured by the mayor.