Navy vet helps stop man from jumping onto subway tracks
PHILADELPHIA--A Navy veteran is credited with helping stop a man from trying to jump in front of a train at a Philadelphia subway station.
CBS Philadelphia reports that authorities say Calvin Wilson didn't hesitate at the Race-Vine station when he saw a man trying to kill himself.
A wife, police say, was trying to keep her despondent husband from plunging onto the tracks.
"Lucky I was there to help," Wilson told CBS Philadelphia.
"There's just heart-wrenching video of the man's wife trying to prevent him from jumping in front of a train," said SEPTA Police Chief Thomas Nestel. Police say as she fought to keep him off the tracks, and the deadly third rail, suddenly Wilson appears to help save his life.
"An angel dropped down on Race-Vine station today," Nestel said.
Wilson was originally on the other side of the tracks, but made it over in just seconds to save the suicidal man.
"As he's trying to jump on the tracks, I just tried to grab him," Wilson said.
After several intense struggles, Wilson pulled the man to safety and police took him for a mental health evaluation. Wilson insists he would do it all over again, if it meant saving a life.
"It's just that military instinct kicked in. I was in the military. It just kicked in. It just came over me and said go," he said.
Wilson spent 8 years in the Navy.
Several other passengers hit the emergency call boxes in the area, alerting SEPTA dispatchers to stop all trains and cut off electricity to the third rail below.
"Just a fantastic story about how people can help people," Nestel said. With the husband safe, Wilson received the reward of a hug from the man's wife.