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D.C. Subway Riders Rescue Man In A Wheelchair Who Fell Onto Tracks

A man in a wheelchair, who rolled off a subway platform and fell onto the tracks at a Washington, D.C., metro stop Tuesday, was rescued by two people who immediately jumped down to save him.

The fall, and the subsequent rescue, was captured by a D.C. Metro surveillance camera. The nearest train was three stops away when the two bystanders jumped onto the track.

The man had his mouth bloodied from the fall, a Metro spokesman said, but no other visible injuries, according tothe Washington Post. He was later sent to the hospital.

It was not clear why the man's wheelchair rolled off the subway platform.

Here's more about the scene from the Post:

"Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said the man who fell, "was not in imminent danger of being struck by a train." The greater danger, Stessel said, came from the third rail, which was activated when the bystanders jumped down to rescue him. Neither was injured.

"Stessel said that a station manager notified train operators of the incident within moments, but the rescue happened so fast that it did not require any trains to stop.

"None of the individuals involved have been identified."

The incident happened at the U Street Metro stop in downtown D.C., and the man was 54-years old, according to ABC News.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Miles Parks is a reporter on NPR's Washington Desk. He covers voting and elections, and also reports on breaking news.
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