by Public Affairs on October 15, 2024 4:05 pm
Seattle police officers rescued a man from an oncoming train in Downtown Seattle last week.
On October 7th, at 9:16 p.m., patrol officers responded to reports of a man experiencing mental health crisis sitting on a ledge high above the train tracks near 2nd Avenue Exit and East Jackson Street.
Officers began speaking with him in hopes of getting him to back to safety. Police dispatch requested inbound trains to be stopped, yet a train was already inbound.
The man slipped and fell approximately 25 feet onto the rocks below and suffered serious injuries and was unable to move.
Policemen on the lower platform ran across the tracks to rescue the man while a train approached them at high speeds. An officer dragged the man to safety, risking his life, with only seconds to spare.
The 57-year-old male sustained multiple fractures. He was treated by the Seattle Fire Department and transported to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition.
Due to the rescue efforts by first responders, the man survived.
#2024-285352/West Precinct/Second Watch