5 honored for rescuing missing boy, 3, from NYC train tracks

NEW YORK (WPIX) — A group of transit workers have been honored for rescuing a 3-year-old boy with autism who was found on a New York train track earlier this month, officials said. The five Metropolitan Transit Authority employees—Shawn Loughran, Williams Kennedy, Marcus Higgins, Max Chong and Christopher Fraina—were hailed as heroes during a commendation ceremony Tuesday.

“Everybody’s quick thinking and the perfect timing allowed us to get this child off the tracks and back to his family," Kennedy said.

On April 6, the Metro-North crew saw the child was stuck on the top of the third rail on the northbound train tracks near the Tarrytown station. A video released by the MTA showed the train slowing down before Higgins jumped onto the tracks and sprinted 40 yards to retrieve the toddler. The team then took the child back to the Tarrytown station to be evaluated.

During the ordeal, Chong and Fraina saw a distraught mom who told them her 3-year-old son with autism was missing. The employees had heard about the rescue and quickly connected the dots before the mother and child were reunited at the station.

"It’s a great feeling knowing that we were able to help reunite this family,” Fraina said. “In those minutes that must have felt like hours to them, I’m so glad we were in the right place at the right time.”