Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Video: See Someone Bloodied In The Subway Tracks? Maybe DO SOMETHING
By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 21, 2011
Modified Aug 23, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 21, 2011
Modified Aug 23, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
We understand that not everyone can be a "subway hero" by leaping into the tracks and pulling someone out...but standing around taking video of a bloodied man in distress, while laughing about his predicament and adding your own dry commentary to the proceedings, isn't anything to be proud of. In the disturbing videos below, a disoriented man rolls around on the L train tracks after falling off the platform at the DeKalb Avenue station in Bushwick. Warning: the videos are very graphic, especially #3, when the disoriented man tries and fails several times to climb out of the tracks (and no one helps him up):
Update: The poster has removed the original three videos, but one Gothamist reader recorded the third (and longest/most graphic) video from his laptop screen using his iPod Touch. You can watch that below:
At the start of the first video, you can see an MTA worker rushing to get help, so we understand that the people in the video are waiting for authorities to come—as the main guy says, "Nah, I'm not jumping in those tracks girl, chill." In addition, the woman does try to talk to him, encouraging him to stay awake and not make any sudden movements, and the group does warn him repeatedly not to touch the third rail. But the moments when they are hysterically laughing (1:20 in the first video) at the situation is really not sitting well with us today.
We contacted the MTA to ask what they recommend people do in these types of situations, and they told us simply: "Immediately notify the station agent or other transit personnel on duty." On their website, it reads: "While you're waiting, please stand behind the yellow protective strip, away from the platform edge. No matter what situation arises, keep off the tracks. Tracks contain 600 volts of live electricity. If you drop something on the tracks, go to the station booth and tell the agent."
Update, August 23: The man who appeared to chuckle with his buddy while recording video of an intoxicated man rolling around on the subway tracks contacted us to expand on what isn't seen in the original videos, which he's since removed from YouTube. (One of the videos lives on because another YouTube user recorded it with his iPod Touch.) Two additional videos have been uploaded today showing the yesterday's documentarian helping an MTA worker get the inebriated victim up onto the platform. His friend declines to help because of all the blood.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the person who took the first videos tells us he was outside the Dekalb Avenue L train subway station when he heard a woman screaming, and he and a friend dropped their bikes and went downstairs to investigate. He says that when they saw the man (who was apparently very drunk and peeing on the tracks) rolling around on the tracks, he alerted the token booth agent, and was instructed not to jump down into the tracks until the electricity to the third rail was cut and the control center was notified. While waiting for EMTs to arrive, he videotaped the injured man because, he tells us, "Everyone records on their phones. Look at World Star Hip Hop, they have way worse videos of people getting beat up. But your article made it seem like we didn't do anything."
Here are two videos showing the injured man finally getting rescued. He also says that he helped the MTA workers when the injured man was lifted onto the platform and hopes the he's doing better.
Tagged
brooklyn
bushwick
DeKalb
MTA
subway
subway hero
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NYC delivery workers fear e-bike bills would bring more police stops, racial profiling
The City Council held a marathon hearing on Wednesday over a slate of proposals to rein in New York's growing ecosystem of e-bikes.
By
Carol Chen
Published Sep 30, 2026 at 5:31 p.m. ET
Fake QR codes on Manhattan parking meters lead to identity theft charges
Prosecutors haven't said how many people entered their card numbers or whether anyone lost money. A 39-year-old man pleaded not guilty Wednesday.
By
Charles Lane
News
Fake QR codes on Manhattan parking meters lead to identity theft charges
Prosecutors haven't said how many people entered their card numbers or whether anyone lost money. A 39-year-old man pleaded not guilty Wednesday.
By
Charles Lane
Fare hike for NYC Ferry going into effect next month
By
Elizabeth Kim
Mayor Zohran Mamdani finally gets his federal security clearance
By
Elizabeth Kim
Lawyer suing to block NYC rent freeze tried swaying previous board vote, ex-chair says
By
David Brand
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .