Good Samaritan Comforts Woman Threatening To Jump From Beam Above Subway Platform

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A Good Samaritan came to the rescue of a woman who was threatening to jump from a beam above a subway platform Saturday in the East Village.

As CBS2's Erin Logan reported, witness Michal Klein was walking up the stairs of the Broadway/Lafayette subway station when she came across two people sitting in a very dangerous spot.

"I couldn't really tell if they were laughing or if one person was crying. I thought it was friends. I wasn't sure," she said. "My first thought was: How did they get up there? I thought they were just goofing off."

Klein quickly found out it was quite the contrary. She asked another woman, who was standing in a group and seemed genuinely concerned.

"She told me the girl had climbed over the railing, and went across the beam, and she said suicidal things," she said.

That's when a stranger bravely made his way over to the young woman, calming her down with an arm around her, Logan reported.

"I don't know what I would've done. I don't think I would've climbed over to do that," Klein said.

The rails are roughly 20 feet high and five feet apart. Still, the man risked his own safety to help a stranger, potentially saving a life.

"He actually cared enough, whoever he was, to help her," she said. "A lot of people seemed to be like, 'Oh, it's New York,' and kept walking."

Other subway riders were also surprised by the Good Samaritan's actions.

"The fact that people take the time to connect with others, it means a lot. It's sweet," one woman said.

No one seemed to disagree, but many said it's not entirely the right thing to do.

"I just call police. That's it," a man said. "Can't do anything different."

Shortly after police arrived on scene, the woman was taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

Klein said after what she witnessed, she hopes the woman will be OK.

Police said in situations like these, people should really call 911 instead of taking matters into their own hands.