Irish Americans lead rescue of drunken man in New York subway drama

Three men save fallen traveller as train approaches

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Hailed as heroes Matt Foley, Dennis Codrington and Garrett O’Hanlon save an man from the subway tracks in NYC

Photo by New York Post

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An Irish American air force cadet and his two friends have been hailed as heroes after rescuing an incapacitated stranger from the tracks as a New York subway train approached.

The New York Post reports that Matt Foley, Dennis Codrington and Garrett O’Hanlon jumped into the tracks of a Manhattan station when the man fell in.

The report says the three miraculously hoisted the passed-out twenty-something back to the platform before the next 1 train rushed in.

The paper says Columbus Circle station was packed with bar time traffic about 2:40 a.m when a man in his twenties, who appeared to be drunk, nailed his head hard on the rail and stumbled from the platform onto the tracks, unconscious.

Read more news about the Irish in New York here

Onlookers screamed and several witnesses broke into tears when they realised the man couldn’t get back up.

The 22-year-old O’Hanlon jumped onto the tracks when he realised the next train was due in just two minutes.

A cadet third class at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, O’Hanlon said: “I couldn’t watch a man die. It was such a rush, it happened so quickly - I just had to react.

“He was unconscious, he was bleeding, and I couldn’t lift him up by myself.”

Dennis Codrington Jr., 23, jumped in to help as O’Hanlon struggled with the man.

The personal trainer said: “The guy was pretty heavy and the train was coming.”

Codrington’s friend Matt Foley also sprung into action.

Foley said: “The train was one minute away. Once you’re down there, you’ve got to make moves. It was out of control.”

The paper adds that as they tried to hoist the stocky man up, the three realized they couldn’t lift him entirely over the platform as the clock announced less than one minute for the next uptown 1 train to arrive.

O’Hanlon added: “I don’t know if the train got a notification, I wasn’t even paying attention.

“It was coming toward us but when we were down there, there was only one objective - to get this guy out.”

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Other strangers started to pull the man up and got him over the edge.

O’Hanlon managed to jump up but Codrington and Foley needed a lift.

Foley said: “I’m glad there were good people there,” said Foley.

The man was rushed unconscious to New York-Presbyterian’s Weill Cornell Medical Center.

The report says his face was soaked in blood from what appeared to be a broken nose but he looked to still be breathing.

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