Visually-impaired man rescued from train tracks
ATLANTA - A visually-impaired man fell onto the MARTA tracks at the Five Points station, but some amazing passengers jumped in to rescue the man. The incident happened around 8 a.m. on Thursday, according to MARTA spokesman Erik Burton.
Daniel Summers did not wait to consider the danger. He jumped onto the tracks. Summers and another man lifted the injured passenger out of the track area as two other men help them remove him from harm’s way.
"No I didn't look both ways before I jumped in. Once I saw his leg and that he was visually impaired I knew he needed help," said Summers.
He said he had gotten off his train when he noticed people yelling for help. Then Summers noticed the man on the tracks yelling his leg was broken. Without a second thought Summers said he jumped onto the tracks and was quickly joined by the other man.
"We didn't say anything to each other, just kind of understood this guy needs to move fast and that's when I noticed his cane on the ground he needed help quickly," said Summers.
MARTA officers quickly responded to the scene where Summers and the others had already pulled the man to safety.
"They're heroes waiting to act when necessary. What happened morning on the Marta system was short or amazing, a heroic event," said Lt. Commander Aston Greene with Marta's Emergency Preparedness Unit.
Summers said at the time he had no idea if another train was around the corner. MARTA said oncoming trains were stopped when passengers reported the emergency. The true danger was the covered electrified rail a couple feet away from the scene capable of killing the men.
"The electric rail never really crossed my mind. So, I jumped over it and went over to the guy laying there," said Summers.
He works at nearby Georgia Pacific and walks to and from MARTA every work day.
Summers said this slice of his life, one day after his 29th birthday will be an example for his 8-month-old daughter of what to do when someone needs helps.
"It didn't feel like anything heroic at the time. It's kind of a no brainer in that situation there was really one choice go help the guy get off the tracks," said Summers.
Lt. Commander Aston Greene said the visually-impaired man who was injured was taken to Grady Hospital with an injured ankle.
He also said Daniel Summers and the others involved in the rescue of the man will likely be recognized for their heroic act with a ceremony in the future.