Heart-stopping moment man is pulled from tracks with seconds to spare

Heart-stopping moment a transit worker pulls a drunk man from tracks just seconds before a train pulls into the station after he fell from a busy platform

  • Clip was released by the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) after the incident Sunday
  • It shows the worker, identified as John O’Connor, quickly pull the man to safety
  • He pulls him up by his arms onto the platform at Coliseum station in California
  • The train arrives just seconds after the two men fall back onto the ground 
  • Additional footage shows the two men embracing as the crowd cheers
  • ‘I thought the train was going to cut him in half, honestly’, O’Connor said
  • The man who fell has not been named but was said to have been drunk   

This is the heart-stopping moment a man was pulled from the train tracks with seconds to spare by a transit worker after he fell from a busy platform following the Oakland Raiders game on Sunday. 

The dramatic clip, released by the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), shows the worker, identified as John O’Connor, quickly drop to the floor to grab the fallen man. 

He then pulls him up by the arms and shoulders, yanking him back onto the platform at Coliseum station in California as the train hurtles into the station. 

The train arrives just as the two men fall back onto the ground. 

Additional footage taken by an onlooker and posted to Twitter showed the two men embracing as the crowd cheers and claps. 

Passenger Tony Badilla wrote: ‘This #BART worker just saved this man from falling onto the tracks as the train was approaching! Amazing!!’  


The security footage begins with the man, in his late 20s, teetering on the edge of the busy platform. As he falls O’Connor rushes towards to him. He desperately pulls at the man, winching him to safety and saving his life just as the train comes into the station

The train arrives just as the two men fall back onto the ground. O’Connor told KPIX: ‘I thought the train was going to cut him in half, honestly. I didn’t want to see this guy die’

The security footage begins with the man, in his late 20s, teetering on the edge of the busy platform. 

As he falls O’Connor rushes towards to him. He desperately pulls at the man, winching him to safety and saving his life as the train, travelling at more than 30mph, comes just moments from hitting him. 

O’Connor told KPIX: ‘I thought the train was going to cut him in half, honestly. I didn’t want to see this guy die. I just did what I did. I just thank God I was there.’

He added: ‘I was standing on the yellow strip, telling people to stay back, looking toward Lake Merritt when, in my peripheral vision, I saw him fall, almost like he missed a step going up a stairway, and he ended up in the trackway. 

‘Everybody was telling him, “get out of the trackway, a train’s coming”.’ 

In a statement BART did not name the man who accidentally fell but said had been drunk and was taken for medical evaluation following the incident. 

They thanked O’Connor, who has worked for the company for 24 years, for his actions, tweeting: ‘He saved a life tonight. Thank you John. Show him some love.’ 

A spokesman added: ‘John was on the platform and ensuring everyone stayed away from the yellow safety strip. A male who was intoxicated accidentally mis-stepped and fell into the trackway while a train was approaching. 

‘John saw this along with other riders and yelled at the man to get back onto the platform. The male didn’t move quick enough so John grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him up by rolling him over his body to safety. They stood up and hugged.’ 

Additional footage taken by an onlooker and posted to Twitter showed the two men embracing as the crowd cheers and claps. In a statement BART did not name the man who accidentally fell but said had been drunk and was taken for medical evaluation following the incident

Passenger Tony Badilla told CNN: ‘As the train approached, I sat up from my seat and the crowd turned their attention to the train. 

‘I heard a commotion to my left just as the train arrived and witnessed the BART worker physically bring the man to the ground, both falling to the deck safely as the train breezed by.

‘The crowd was shocked at just how close of a call it was, and the man was rattled. The BART worker was upset with the man for being so careless, but his emotions took over and the two embraced.

‘He was actively keeping the postgame crowd clear from danger while helping riders to their trains. The positive outcome of this event is a direct result of John’s attentiveness.’ 

 

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