SEPTA rider who fell on the track is rescued by a fellow passenger

Video footage captured the quick-thinking rescue of a 44-year-old woman who fell onto a subway track this week.

The incident happened about 8:45 p.m. Monday on the westbound platform of the Market-Frankford Line’s 15th Street station, according to SEPTA. Surveillance footage shows the woman walking close to the edge of the platform before falling onto the tracks. Passersby rush over, and one rider is quick to lift her onto the platform before two SEPTA Transit Police officers arrive.

The woman was taken to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and later released, according to SEPTA. Service was not disrupted.

SEPTA Transit Officer John Gordy III jumped into action when he heard the woman fall — something he’d never experienced before, with just about a year on the job. It “sounded like an explosion or something went off,” he said.

“I must have been in shock for two seconds,” he said. “Then I ran over to immediately react because … I just referred back to my training and remembered what to do, not to panic, breathe, make sure that they’re calm, make sure that they’re not panicking.”

The woman told Gordy that the bags she was carrying were heavy and she lost her balance. He described the passenger who helped the woman as “a man of very few words,” who left as soon as the next train arrived.

“SEPTA reminds riders to always stay behind the yellow line when walking along any train platform,” the agency said in a statement.

SEPTA reduced service early in the coronavirus pandemic, but brought back most transit service in May to prepare for the region’s reopening.