Did a subway motorman put passengers at risk during medical emergency?

EASTCHESTER (WABC) -- After sixteen years of service as a subway motorman, Quincy Calhoun suddenly found himself at home with no paycheck.

"I value human life, and I was thinking more of his life than anything else," says Calhoun.

Last month, the 59-year-old was training a fellow motorman. As their #5 subway approached its final stop at Dyre Avenue in Eastchester, Calhoun says a man grabbed his chest and slid to the floor.

Now Calhoun faced a medical emergency, a red signal and a dilemma - get immediate help by disabling the signal and moving to the platform, or wait for help to come to him. Calhoun made a decision.

"Going against protocol, I hooked the signal down to get the train through," Calhoun said.

On Monday, the MTA made its decision, suspending Calhoun without pay for violating safety protocols. A spokesperson tells Eyewitness News,

'The actions of this train operator could have actually caused a derailment (which he acknowledged) by attempting to operate a train through a closed switch point and jeopardize the safety of customers.'

Union leaders, fighting for Calhoun, plan to take his case to arbitration.

"He didn't put anybody else in jeopardy, anybody else at risk. There was no threat of derailment or collision, even though the Transit Authority says otherwise. We're confident that the4 facts will show there was not," says Steve Downs of the TWU Local 100.