A rainy evening at Queensboro Plaza in New York nearly turned tragic when a 14-year-old boy fainted and fell onto the subway tracks. Quick action by conductor Ray McKie, who was off-duty at the time, prevented disaster.
On August 20, McKie, 37, was walking through the station when panicked screams came from the platform above. “I saw that there was a train coming in, and I looked at the tracks, and I saw that there was a person pretty much lying on the tracks,” McKie told PEOPLE.
The teen had collapsed onto the northbound N and W tracks just as a train approached. Despite the storm making the ground slick, McKie ran toward the train and signaled the operator to stop. The brakes engaged, but the train was still moving when another passenger jumped down to help.
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Now, McKie faced a more dangerous situation. “To make sure the train stopped, I jumped down to the platform and picked up the unconscious kid, who was starting to come to,” he recalls. “And then I helped the other passenger off the tracks as well.”
Once back on the platform, McKie kept the boy alert, chatting with him to check for signs of a concussion. The teen was dazed, more concerned about his shoes than his fall. “Don’t worry about your sneakers. You’re fine. You can clean them off,” McKie remembers saying.
Emergency responders arrived within 18 minutes, and the boy has since recovered fully. McKie insists the rescue was a group effort. “Everyone kind of just came together,” he says.
At home, the conductor has been showered with praise from his fiancée and 6-year-old daughter, who told him, “Daddy, you’re the best New York boy in the world.” McKie admits that hearing that meant everything. “She hasn’t stopped raving about it,” he says of his partner.
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Reflecting on the moment, McKie says instinct took over. “It all happened very fast, and I just went on instinct,” he explains, noting that his MTA training and New York upbringing prepared him for emergencies. “I’m from New York. There’s a lot of stuff that goes on here that we’re already prepared for.”
