By Jeremy Walsh
The Woodside actor who rescued a fellow straphanger who had fallen on the tracks at a Manhattan subway stop and then left on a train before he could be thanked was honored by the City Council Tuesday, although he looked as though he might rather have been back underground.
Chad Lindsey, 33, grinned good−naturedly as news photographers and cameramen gathered around him before the Council meeting. Then a clatter and thump — probably TV equipment — led reporters to wonder whether someone had climbed onto a table for a better look and fallen.
“If they did, I can probably help,” he joked.
Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D−Manhattan) and Councilman Eric Gioia (D−Sunnyside) sang Lindsey’s praises.
“Thank you for being a great New Yorker, thank you for being so humble that you don’t think this needs attention,” Quinn said, noting Lindsey was hesitant to agree to a news conference.
“It was like he was accommodating us,” she said.
On March 16, Lindsay was waiting on the A−C−E platform at 34th Street when he saw a man collapse and fall onto the tracks.
“We all watched in slow motion as he teetered around and fell head first,” said Lindsey, whose part in the off−Broadway play “Casper Hauser” also required him to lift a man off the ground. “He was bleeding pretty badly.”
Lindsey jumped down on the tracks, tried to awaken the unconscious man, and when that failed, slung the 60−year−old Bronx resident over his shoulder and hoisted him onto the platform with the help of a few other commuters. He climbed up out of the way of an oncoming train with 15 seconds to spare, Quinn said.
Then as police gathered to administer aid to the man, Lindsey, covered in dirt and blood, jumped on the next train to arrive at the station.
“I had to get in my next appointment,” he said. “I had to do a play reading and they needed everyone there. … I didn’t think until I was on the next train.”
The Bronx man was treated for minor injuries and released from the hospital, Quinn said. Lindsey said he has not had contact with the man, but heard he is doing well.
Gioia joked that Lindsey, who hails from Harbor Point, Mich., and moved to Woodside three years ago, owed some of his heroism to the food and water in the neighborhood.
“If anybody out there is doing a TV show or a commercial or a film or a play, give this guy a call,” he said.
Lindsey was not able to stick around long to hear many offers. He had to leave shortly after Quinn presented him with a framed proclamation — another audition to attend.
Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e−mail at jewalsh@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 154.
