Emotional reunion for wounded subway conductor and 'angel' doctor

Monday, March 4, 2024
Exclusive: Emotion reunion between subway slashing victim and doctor
N.J. Burkett has the exclusive.

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn (WABC) -- Days after enduring a frightening attack onboard a train in Brooklyn, a subway conductor reunited with the doctor who helped save his life at the scene.

Subway conductor Alton Scott fought back tears and struggled to find the words while coming face-to-face with the man who saved his life, Dr. Patrick McGrory.

"I will remember you for the rest of my life," said Scott to McGrory. "God bless you. "You're a good man, my angel."

Dr. McGrory was a passenger onboard Scott's A train, rolling into the Rockaway Avenue train station in the middle of the night on Thursday when a man suddenly ran up to him and slashed him across the neck, just centimeters from his carotid artery.

Scott got on the PA system - and that's when Dr. McGrory came running from two cars up.

"I said, 'I need help, I've been stabbed, I need help right away. Can somebody help me?" Scott recalled.

"It was a very close call," said Dr. McGrory. "He was lucky. It was right near the carotid artery. And that is hard to stop, to be honest."

But McGrory stuffed the wound with whatever cloth he could find, and used pressure to help stop the bleeding.

"He told me, he said 'They didn't hit the artery,'" said Scott. "And I needed to know that."

Officials say a man wearing a blue vest ran from the scene. No arrests have been made.

The Transport Workers Union honored Dr. McGrory, hoping that what he did inspires others.

"In his case it required packing and then pressure," said Dr. McGrory. "You know, frankly, I was doing my job, you know, as a physician, but as a human being too."

"I could never thank this guy enough," Scott said. "He's a hero. If this man wasn't there, it's you know, it's an angel, Dr. Patrick."

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