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Man Survives Subway Fall By Lying In Gap Between Rails
By
Ben Yakas
Published Dec 15, 2013
Modified Dec 15, 2013
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Dec 15, 2013
Modified Dec 15, 2013
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Yesterday, a man who fell onto the subway tracks at Union Square survived after he laid down on the roadbed between rails. At first, officials believed that Ralph Mercado, 55, had been struck by a northbound R train just after 11:30 p.m. on Saturday. But it turned out that the train rolled over Mercado without touching him thanks to his quick thinking.
“He did like a push up and went down. It rolled right over him,” witness Suzannah Troy, who took the video below, told the Post. “The train was moving as slow as possible.”
“I heard screaming. He was reaching out to the people reaching out to help him, but there wasn’t enough time to grab him,” Troy added. “He went back to the middle. His head turned looking at the train. [Then] he’s right under the train! He’s right here!” It's still unclear how Mercado ended up on the tracks—some witnesses say he fell, but he allegedly told cops that he jumped down to save a woman who had fallen (witnesses say there was no woman).
Mercado was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition, where he’s undergoing a psychological evaluation.
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Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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