In The Spotlite: Drunk Woman Falls in Front of Train, Narrowly Escapes Death

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Drunk Woman Falls in Front of Train, Narrowly Escapes Death - Video

An apparently inebriated 26-year-old woman narrowly escaped death Friday in the Boston MBTA subway as she fell into the path of an oncoming train. The heroic train driver somehow managed to stop the train just as the very tip of the front of the first car passed over the woman who by this time was lying on the tracks and possibly fearing the worst.

The woman had attempted to stomp out her cigarette and watch for the train at the same time as the train approached, and that is when she stumbled and fell directly onto the tracks. During the whole process she also somehow managed not to touch the electrified third rail, which also might have meant death for the woman.

After the woman fell onto the tracks, other commuters frantically attempted to alert the train driver that someone was on the tracks by waving their arms at the train's driver.

MBTA train operator Charice Lewis saw the passengers at North Station flailing their arms as the train approached the station. At approximately the same time, she heard her radio frantically warn her to pull the emergency brake because someone had fallen onto the tracks.

“It was so close, I thought it was not good,’’ said the 27-year-old Lewis, a train operator from Mattapan. “Afterward she came up with a big smile on her face and I’m like ‘Oh my God, you really scared me,’ ’’ Lewis said. “The most exciting part for me is she crawled out from under (the train).’’

Lewis received a called from the governor after the incident and also was honored as a hero yesterday by Secretary of Transportation Jeffrey Mullan.

The woman on the tracks has not been identified; however, she had scraped her knees but was otherwise was reported to be okay. According to police she had been drinking for several hours before the event. The woman was treated and evaluated at Massachusetts General Hospital.