Editor’s note: This story previously mentioned that the victim was shoved into the subway tracks. The victim was punched, and the force caused him to fall into the subway tracks. The story below has been updated to reflect the new information.
BROOKLYN, N.Y. (PIX11) – An MTA worker was hailed a hero Tuesday after he saved a man who fell onto the subway tracks in Brooklyn.
A bystander and Brooklyn native said she was there when a homeless man walked up to the victim, and hit him in the head, which caused him to fall onto the subway tracks at the 25th Street station. Angel Oquendo, an MTA worker, swooped in to save the man.
The woman who witnessed the scary ordeal followed the suspect and flagged down police a station away. Police caught up with the man in the alleged attack and described him as an “emotionally disturbed individual,” according to the NYPD. He was placed under observation at a local hospital.
PIX11 News spoke to Oquendo’s neighbors, who said the MTA worker’s heroics didn’t surprise them. In 2022, the 55-year-old was honored for helping usher panicked passengers to safety after a man opened fire in the 36th Street station. Oquendo was among the 19 MTA workers who were honored by Gov. Kathy Hochul for their life-saving actions during the subway attack on April 12, 2022.
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