Heroics of a transit worker

Pearl Gabel/Pearl Gabel/ New York Daily News

NYC Transit power-distribution maintainer Roger Bell didn’t hesitate — despite danger of rush-hour trains roaring by — to save a legally blind man who accidentally fell on subway tracks.

A 52-year-old legally blind man accidentally stepped off a subway platform and fell to the tracks — but he was saved by a quick-thinking, coolheaded transit worker.

Roger Bell, a power-distribution maintainer, was in the Broadway Junction complex in Brooklyn when he heard screams and saw cops running toward the L train’s Manhattan-bound platform.

Bell, 56, also ran toward the sounds of trouble.

“When I went to the edge of the platform, I saw there was a gentleman lying across the tracks,” Bell said. “I told the police, ‘I got this. I work for the transit authority. Just look out for my lunch kit.’ I then got down on the tracks.”

Bell — who hoisted Patrick Anderson to safety with help from riders and police on the platform — was nominated Wednesday for a Hometown Heroes in Transit award for the dramatic May 10 rescue.

“He saved this gentleman’s life,” Emanuel Gourdet, a supervisor in the power-distribution division, said Wednesday.

Hometown Heroes in Transit honors MTA bus and subway workers who do the extraordinary on behalf of riders, co-workers and their communities. The annual contest, conducted in conjunction with Transport Workers Union Local 100 and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, culminates this year with an awards ceremony and the publication of special Daily News section on Jan. 29.

Anderson, of Queens, couldn’t be reached Tuesday. The accident occurred about 7:45 a.m. — rush hour — when L trains are scheduled to arrive every four to six minutes. Bell knew the train schedule, but that didn’t give him pause.

“There was no hesitation when I saw him down there,” he said. “The main thing was this guy had to get out of there. Somebody had to do something. I had to do something.”

One danger to Anderson was the electrified third rail and its deadly current. As part of his job, Bell deals with live tracks, high-voltage cables and power substations every day.

“It does not surprise me to hear that when someone is in need, such as this person, that transit employees are ready to step up and help,” said Edward Brennan, assistant chief of third rail operations.

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