Video Shows Good Samaritans Trying To Rescue Man From NYC Subway Tracks

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- New York City straphangers were reacting Thursday night to shocking video that has just surfaced showing a group of men trying to save a man who was lying on the subway tracks as a speeding train approaches.

As CBS 2's Dave Carlin reported, a sense of impending doom dominates one five-minute video reportedly taken in late December, which shows the man refusing to get up from the train tracks at the 175th Street station in Washington Heights.

Then a group of men jumps down, all risking their own lives to try to save his.

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO (WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE)

But they understandably panic and jump out as the A Train heads straight for them.

A Good Samaritan runs, waving his arms to try to warn the train's operator.

But it's too late.

What can't be seen on the video is that underneath the train, the man is lying face-down in the ditch between the tracks, miraculously deep enough that he survived.

The man did not appear to be injured afterward, but he was taken to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, Carlin reported.

Carlin asked subway riders what they would do in a similar situation.

"If I see a train coming, I'm going to save my own life before I save anyone else's," said Alex Rodriguez, of Washington Heights.

"I know I can't outrun a train," said Jose Ruiz. "I'm not stupid."

"It's also concerning that the person is recording all this," added Kayla Richardson, also of Washington Heights.

The video has Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials reminding everyone never to trust that the pits between the tracks are deep enough to save you. They also warn the electrified third rail is nearby.

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