Harrowing rescue of 3-year-old boy with autism on Metro-North train tracks caught on video
A 3-year-old boy with autism was rescued from Metro-North train tracks by workers on an approaching Metro-North train, a video released Tuesday by the Metropolitan Transit Authority showed.
Locomotive Engineer William Kennedy was operating a southbound Hudson Line train around 3:15 p.m. on April 6 when he spotted the child on the northbound tracks near Tarrytown and immediately alerted nearby train crews, the MTA said in a statement.
“There’s a little kid north of you guys … just keep an eye out, he just popped out of a wall,” someone can be heard saying over the radio before asking a northbound train to come to a complete stop.
That train, helmed by Locomotive Engineer Shawn Loughran and a trainee, is seen proceeding north slowly, looking for the child until he’s spotted dangerously near — and then on top of — an electrified third rail.
A crew member can be heard on the radio requesting that the electricity be cut off as the video showed Assistant Conductor Marcus Higgins jumping onto the tracks and running ahead of the train to snatch the boy out of harm’s way.
“Crew’s got the toddler, over,” a crew member said over the radio.
A crew member is seen bringing the boy onto the train and setting him down on a seat and putting one of his shoes that had fallen off back on his foot. He asks the child if he knows where his mom or dad was.
The crew then traveled back to Tarrytown Station, where they were met by MTAPD officers and Tarrytown EMS.
At the same time, Signal Maintainers Max Chong and Christopher Fraina were heading to the scene to assist when they ran into the child’s hysterical mother and sister, who were found crying on a street corner, according to the MTA.
The mother explained that her 3-year-old son was missing.
A Sleepy Hollow police officer arrived at the corner and mentioned a report of a missing child and the group realized they were all looking for the same child, the MTA said.
Meanwhile, the Metro-North signal maintainers learned via radio that a lost child was at Tarrytown station.
The boy’s mother, who told authorities her son has autism, is seen bursting into tears as she boarded the train to be reunited with him.
“In the heat of the moment when you see a child in this situation, your first instinct is to make sure they’re safe,” Higgins, who ran ahead to grab the boy from the third rail, said in a statement.
The MTA awarded commendations to Kennedy, Higgins, Chong, Fraina and Loughran for their actions at a ceremony on Monday.
“These fine team members embodied the qualities we want our employees to exhibit while on duty, alert, responsive, knowledgeable and helpful,” said Metro-North Railroad President and Interim LIRR President Catherine Rinaldi.
“With the bravery and calm comportment of superheroes, they averted a horrific outcome and saw to it that this little boy was not going to become a statistic,” she said. “We salute their efforts and compassion, and heartily thank them for their dedication to the people we serve.”
