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Third Rail Terror: Subway Worker Nearly Fried To Death
By
James Thilman
Published Apr 14, 2012
Modified Apr 14, 2012
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By
James Thilman
Published Apr 14, 2012
Modified Apr 14, 2012
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Subway worker Michael Lee is lucky to be alive after a horrific accident on the third rail that left him with third-degree burns covering thirty percent of his body. The accident occurred at the 239th Street Yard when 45-year-old Lee dropped a 200-pound coupler onto the third rail, sending sparks and bolts flying, engulfing him in flames. Lee remained conscious throughout the excruciatingly painful ordeal, but he is just happy to be alive. "The adapter I was handling could have ricocheted off the rail and hit me in the chest like a missile,” he told the Post. “It could have been deadly.”
Lee's colleague, Lorraine Sills, witnessed the ordeal and called for help. Sills was later treated for trauma. “She saved my life. I wouldn’t be alive if she wasn’t helping me,” said Lee.
Tagged
electrocution
MTA
subway
third rail
James Thilman
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