Subway hero speaks out about saving man's life who fell on tracks

NEW YORK (WABC) -- One of the heroes of an incredible subway rescue spoke out for the first time.

The quick thinking bystander jumped to the aid of a man who went unconscious and fell onto the subway tracks, with just minutes to spare before a train came whizzing by.

"I heard a girl scream," said David Tirado, a Good Samaritan. "She pointed and said a man fell onto the track."

It was a terrifying moment on the tracks that not only drew attention, but prompted Tirado and two other Good Samaritans to risk their lives.

"The guy was laying out, I mean he was pretty much down and out," Tirado said. "There was no time to think, it's just do it and go and try to get him out."

An army veteran Tirado says his instincts and training immediately kicked in when he saw the unconscious man lying below the City Hall R train platform last Friday.

Eyewitness video captured the moments that followed as Tirado and two others quickly jumped down to help the man who apparently had a medical emergency.

"Hit his head on the tracks on the first rail and his arm got stuck so I had to wedge him out," Tirado said. "We got him pulled on top, checked his pulse, and he caught a seizure so we had to let it play out."

The victim is now identified as 58-year-old Ron Washington. He was pulled to safety just minutes before the next train arrived and rushed to Bellevue Hospital where he is still under evaluation.

Eyewitness News spoke with his brother who is visiting from out of town.

"I did see the video, and I'm very thankful that they helped my brother off the railroad tracks because that could have been dangerous, in fact life threatening," said Herbert Washington, Jr., the victim's brother.

Meanwhile Tirado who works security for Goldman Sachs, says he wouldn't think twice about helping another person in need.

"A lot of people think that we don't do our part in New York City, because this is New York, this is a big city, we help each other out, when you're down and out we do help," Tirado said.

The MTA encourages riders to signal the train operator or platform managers instead of taking matters into their own hands, but what Mr. Tirado and those two other men did was certainly brave.