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‘I did what I had to do’: Con Ed employee saves man on subway tracks

Posted at 9:46 AM, Apr 05, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-05 09:46:43-04

A utility employee is being hailed as a hero for saving the life of a man who fell onto the tracks at a subway station in New York.

Jonathan Kulig, a Con Edison engineer, told CNN affiliate WABC he was about to leave the L train station at Third Avenue and 14th Street on Saturday night when he realized someone had fallen on the other side of the platform.

Kulig’s effort was caught on cellphone video by 15-year-old Parker Van de Graaf.

“I made sure that I was safe before I jumped down there,” Kulig told WABC. “But the thought of ‘Should I do this, should I not do this?’ That didn’t even cross my mind.”

The video shows Kulig navigating the tracks to avoid the third rails until he reached the man, who fell on a puddle of water and trash in the middle of the tracks. Kulig picked the man up and laid him on the platform before jumping to safety himself.

Kulig and Parker’s mother, Laura Van de Graaf, helped the man get to a bench. The train can be seen approaching the station about a minute later.

“The one thing I can completely say that I’m pretty confident about is that if I didn’t pick him up, that train would’ve gotten him,” Kulig said.

The New York Police Department said the 23-year-old man was intoxicated when he fell. He was taken to a hospital by emergency personnel.

Con Edison called Kulig a hero on Twitter for his bold action.

Kulig told WABC he’s proud of saving the man.

“I did what I had to do,” he said.