A blind man is lucky to be alive after falling between two F train cars at a Brooklyn subway station on Sunday afternoon, police and fire officials said.
The man, who was said to be in his 50s, was not seriously injured by the fall, police said. He was taken by EMS to Methodist Hospital in stable condition.
Transit police on the scene say the accident occurred at about 2:20 p.m. on April 12 at the 15th Street-Prospect Park station near Park Slope. Cops said the man apparently was using a “white cane,” a stick used by the visually impaired to find obstacles in their path, when he went to board the train.
Fire officials say that, when he put his stick forward, instead of going into the open doors, he walked forward and fell between the train couplings.
Firefighters rushed to the scene with transit police and found the man under the train. They ordered power turned off on the third rail so they could safely lift the man off the tracks and onto a gurney.
Stunned witnesses said it appeared that the man thought the train doors were in front of him. Luckily, witnesses were able to alert the motorman, who kept the train in the station while rescuers could be summoned.
The train was held up for at least 30 minutes as the man was removed. The incident was under investigation by the NYPD Transit Bureau.
