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Heroic New Yorker saves man on subway, gets to work on time

wrahn Contributor
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An East Harlem man was being hailed as a subway hero for pulling a straphanger off the tracks Sunday, saving him from being crushed by a train.

Lifesaver Carlos Flores, 36, said a combination of benevolence and not wanting to miss an overtime shift at his grocery store job prompted his derring-do.

“I was thinking, if he gets hit I can’t go to work. It’s Sunday. I can’t miss out. It’s a time-and-a-half day,” Flores told the Daily News.

The heroic feat unfolded about 8 a.m. as Flores was waiting for a downtown No. 6 train at a crowded E. 103rd St. station.

Flores, a produce clerk at a NoHo grocery store, was thinking about the $19-an-hour shift ahead of him when an elderly man yelled for help, pointing to a man dazed and sprawled on the tracks.

Bystanders were yelling at the man to “Get up!” warning, “The train is coming” and “You’re going to get hit.”

When the man in peril failed to stir, Flores noticed the digital sign on the platform showing the next downtown train arriving in three minutes.

“That’s a good thing,” said Flores, figuring he had just enough time to jump down on the tracks, make the rescue and still get to work on time.

Full story: Brave local man makes it to work on time – after heroically saving man sprawled on No. 6 track