The incredible moment a Good Samaritan fearlessly leaped onto live subway tracks to save a 63-year-old man who had fallen off the platform has been captured on video.
Christopher Knafelc, 32, was sitting at a North Philadelphia subway station on Thursday afternoon when he saw what appeared to be a man tumble off the platform several yards away.
'Out of the corner of my eye I saw a body fall,' Mr Knafelc told Philly.com.
Of all the people standing around, some just feet away, Mr Knafelc was the only one to not only rush to his aid, but immediately jump down beside him - a man he didn't know.
'I jumped down. He was in pain. He was in agony,' Mr Knafelc said.
'I knew I had about five to 10 minutes until another train,' he said. 'I told the guy in the booth to suspend southbound trains. I already had a plan in mind if a train came to roll underneath.'
As they waited for rescue crews to arrive, with the train traffic securely halted around them, he says he tried to keep the man's head and neck stable in the meantime.
'I kept him talking. I said are you all right? What hurts? He didn't thank me but I know he was thankful,' he told CBS Philadelphia.
Septa police Chief Tom Nestel immediately called Mr Knafelc a hero.
'The line is energized which means there's an awful lot of electricity running through that track area and a passenger who doesn't even know that person that fell immediately runs and jumps onto the tracks to save that person. He's a hero,' he told CBS.
It's still unclear why the man fell onto tracks.
In the video surveillance he's seen almost absentmindedly walking straight off the platform.
He was hospitalized complaining of pain but said to have not been seriously injured.
Mr Knafelc says he was just in the right place at the right time.
He was returning from a visit at nearby Temple University, placing him on the southbound subway bench at 12.44pm - exactly where he needed to be.
'I plan on going back to school in the future,' he told Philly.com of his trip.
As for the daring rescue, he readily says he'd do it again.
'I can't imagine not helping someone in that situation,' he says.
Christopher Knafelc, 32, was sitting at a North Philadelphia subway station on Thursday afternoon when he saw what appeared to be a man tumble off the platform several yards away.
'Out of the corner of my eye I saw a body fall,' Mr Knafelc told Philly.com.
Of all the people standing around, some just feet away, Mr Knafelc was the only one to not only rush to his aid, but immediately jump down beside him - a man he didn't know.
'I jumped down. He was in pain. He was in agony,' Mr Knafelc said.
'I knew I had about five to 10 minutes until another train,' he said. 'I told the guy in the booth to suspend southbound trains. I already had a plan in mind if a train came to roll underneath.'
As they waited for rescue crews to arrive, with the train traffic securely halted around them, he says he tried to keep the man's head and neck stable in the meantime.
'I kept him talking. I said are you all right? What hurts? He didn't thank me but I know he was thankful,' he told CBS Philadelphia.
Septa police Chief Tom Nestel immediately called Mr Knafelc a hero.
'The line is energized which means there's an awful lot of electricity running through that track area and a passenger who doesn't even know that person that fell immediately runs and jumps onto the tracks to save that person. He's a hero,' he told CBS.
It's still unclear why the man fell onto tracks.
In the video surveillance he's seen almost absentmindedly walking straight off the platform.
He was hospitalized complaining of pain but said to have not been seriously injured.
Mr Knafelc says he was just in the right place at the right time.
He was returning from a visit at nearby Temple University, placing him on the southbound subway bench at 12.44pm - exactly where he needed to be.
'I plan on going back to school in the future,' he told Philly.com of his trip.
As for the daring rescue, he readily says he'd do it again.
'I can't imagine not helping someone in that situation,' he says.
Source: DailyMail
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