New York: elected “subway hero” for his courage, he wins a year of free rides

The good samaritan of the metro. Rikien Wilder – a 44-year-old American – has been voted “subway hero” by the company that manages New York transport, after taking enormous risks to stop a man who tried to derail a train at the station. 14 Street Station, located north of Greenwich Village.

Rikien Wilder – who was waiting for the tube at Greenwich Village station this Sunday – had seen a man depositing junk on the tracks. Taking his courage in both hands, the forty-something had then jumped on the tracks to quickly clear the debris voluntarily left by this visibly ill-intentioned person.

A heroic gesture that did not stop the criminal from re-offending on other tracks, causing the derailment of the train entering the station. A scene that Rikien Wilder could have witnessed helplessly, had he not preferred to run the fleeing man.

One year of free rides

“My adrenaline rushed up and I thought I had to do something,” he said, adding that “normally when something is going on in New York you watch the news, man. runs away and is never caught. So I said to myself that if one day I witnessed such a scene, I had to do something ”.

And his courage did not go unnoticed since the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) – the company that manages New York transport – wanted to reward the one who is now set up as a savior, by offering him a year of free trips on their network.

We love to see New Yorkers taking care of one another.

While we never want you to go on the tracks, we’re grateful to Rikien Wilder for all he did to try to remove the debris from the tracks in Sunday’s vandalism-caused derailment. He helped keep the customers and crew safe. pic.twitter.com/2E5s5aEn5o

— MTA. Wear a Mask. Stop the Spread. (@MTA) September 23, 2020

According to Patrick J. Foye, CEO of MTA, Rikien Wilder’s determination has not only allowed to avoid that another derailment takes place but above all to arrest the alleged perpetrator, who would surely have escaped if he had not intervened quickly.

More fear than harm finally for the 135 passengers of the train which derailed. The emergency services were able to intervene very quickly and no travelers were injured.