NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Transit officials on Wednesday honored a 27-year MTA veteran after he heroically saved a rider’s life earlier this week by jumping in front of an oncoming train in Brooklyn.
Roberto Ritcher, jumped onto the tracks at Jay Street-Metrotech station Tuesday afternoon.
"Roberto didn’t hesitate to act," Interim Transit President Sarah Feinberg said during a press event. "He put himself in danger to help a fellow New Yorker, leaping onto the tracks to pull the man to safety."
"He didn’t seem to flinch. He didn’t seem to take a second. He just jumped on the tracks. He knew exactly what to do," she added.
Ritcher was waiting for the subway when he heard a loud noise and spotted the 70-year-old man lying in the tracks, he told reporters.
Just "seconds before" the C train entered the station, Ritcher and another rider were able to pull the man off the tracks, the MTA said.
"You don’t hesitate when you see a helpless person like that," Ritcher said. "The way he was, the way I looked at him and he was bleeding, it’s immediate.”
Station cleaner Cha-Nikka Cheatham, was also honored by Feinberg for rushing to call for medical assistance after seeing Ritcher jump onto the tracks from another platform.
"When he jumped down, I ran up the stairs to come over and it was like blood everywhere," Cheatham said.
Feinberg commended both employees for their "truly selfless actions" saying they "exemplify what transit employees do every day in caring for the millions of people that use our system."