NEW YORK — An EMT from the Gotham Volunteer Ambulance Corps in Ridgewood is being hailed as a hero after jumping onto subway tracks to save a man struck by a train.
Matthew Tirschwell, a longtime EMT and Manhattan resident, had just returned from a business trip to Los Angeles when the incident occurred on Jan. 17. Tirschwell was at the busy 86th Street subway station carrying his suitcases when he noticed something was wrong, QNS.com reported.
“I heard a commotion, and people started to run away. When I reached the top, I saw a police officer running downstairs and thought, ‘This isn’t good,’” Tirschewell told QNS. “When I arrived, I realized this was serious. As a volunteer EMT, you’re always ready to act, and I always carry a tourniquet with me for situations like this.”
Tirschwell made his way to the front of the platform where the train had stopped. Bystanders pointed out the victim, who appeared to be moving but was severely injured.
Manhattan: East 86th Street & Lexington Avenue, a person believed to have suffered a medical episode, fell onto the @NYCTSubway tracks on Friday, just before a train arrived. The train struck the individual, resulting in a full-blown foot amputation. The @FDNY, @NYPDSpecialops,… pic.twitter.com/cAiAeW008z
— NYC Scoop (@NY_Scoop) January 22, 2025
“When the conductor came out of his booth and climbed downstairs, I thought, ‘Okay, it’s probably fine,’” Tirschwell recalled. “So I jumped down and walked between the third rail. Very quickly, I saw my patient. I saw as clear as day what had happened.”
The man had lost his lower leg in the accident. Acting swiftly, Tirschwell applied his tourniquet to stop the bleeding. “The fire department came and I thought of ways we could get him out. To the best of our abilities, we got him on a backboard, got his leg, and brought it with him. I think the jeans were still attached,” Tirschwell explained.
Once the victim was moved to the front of the train, another EMT applied a second tourniquet for added security.
“It was a good idea to use a second tourniquet,” Tirschwell told QNS.
The man was then safely removed from the tracks and transported to the hospital for further treatment.
Tirschwell never learned the identity or condition of the person he helped, but his decisive actions likely saved the man’s life.
