Marine Sgt. Derrick McMillian was waiting for the subway in Manhattan when he heard a commotion. He saw that a man had fallen onto the tracks and was struggling to stand up.
A recruiter based in New York City, McMillian, realized that a train was about 2 minutes away. Without hesitating, he jumped onto the tracks and went over to the man, whom he was afraid would stumble onto the electrified third rail.
“I saw people were more just kind of like watching, wondering, who’s going to help this guy,” McMillian told Task & Purpose. “I’m seeing him trying to get up and he can’t get up. It just felt normal and natural to go down and help him out.”
The incident took place on the evening of Dec. 3 at the Chamber Street Station in Manhattan. Video of the rescue shows McMillian patiently lifting the man up so that others waiting for the subway could pull the man onto the platform.
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