Five Metro-North employees were honored for their actions after seeing a 3-year-old boy near railroad tracks in Westchester County and bringing him to safety, the MTA announced.
It was just after 3 p.m. on April 6 when an engineer spotted an object near the tracks north of Tarrytown as he was operating a southbound Hudson Line Train, according to the transit agency. He quickly realized it was a small child, and immediately alerted nearby train crews.
Another engineer and an engineer trainee both aboard a northbound train approached the area slowly and shortly after spotted the child on a track near — and then on top of — an electrified third rail, the MTA said. The train conductor then jumped onto the track and ran 40 yards ahead to pick up the boy, bringing him on board. The train then went back to the Tarrytown station.
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Meanwhile, the boy's mother and sister were seen sobbing on a street corner, and said the 3-year-old was missing. A Sleepy Hollow police officer mentioned a missing child report, and a pair of MTA signal maintainers heard a report on their radios that a found child was at the train station.
The mother and son were reunited at the train station. The boy's mother said her son has autism and is nonverbal, the MTA said. It was not immediately clear how the boy got onto the tracks.
“These fine team members embodied the qualities we want our employees to exhibit while on duty, alert, responsive, knowledgeable and helpful,” Metro-North Railroad President and Interim LIRR President Catherine Rinaldi said. “With the bravery and calm comportment of superheroes, they averted a horrific outcome and saw to it that this little boy was not going to become a statistic. We salute their efforts and compassion, and heartily thank them for their dedication to the people we serve.”
