Hero pulls woman to safety
Published: August 9, 2007
Although he has found a job in Brooklyn putting his stone masonry skills to work, Hang Yuan Li used another talent last week he has not had the opportunity to tap since emigrating from China nearly eight years ago: saving lives.
On July 31, Li was running a little late as he stepped onto the platform at the Main Street/Roosevelt Avenue subway station in Flushing.
As he waited alongside about 200 passengers awaiting the next No. 7 subway train, he heard a crash. He spun around to see an elderly woman sprawled out on the tracks, unconscious.
Without thinking, Li leapt on the tracks, and with the help of another good Samaritan, was able to pull the woman to safety.
“I didn’t think about myself at all,” Li said afterwards. “When you see someone that needs help, saving someone’s life is most important.”
The woman, who was not identified by police, was taken to New York Hospital of Queens, where she was listed in stable condition.
Surprisingly, last week’s heroic effort was not the first Li has made since coming to the United States more than seven years ago. The 44-year-old Li said while in his native community of Hubei, China, along the Yangtze River, he saved the lives of several people. In one instance, Li said he helped prevent someone from drowning in the strong river current.
On yet another occasion, Li helped a family escape as their home went up in flames.
Despite the lengthy resume of valiant acts he has built for himself, Li said he does not see himself as heroic.
“Helping others and saving others should be a model of life in our society,” he said. “It’s a characteristic people should have.”
He added: “If I didn’t jump on the tracks, someone else would have.”
Li was honored last Thursday afternoon by state Assemblywoman Ellen Young (D-Flushing), who presented Li with a citation for his heroic act. Initially, Li had thought he had lost his passport and wallet in the commotion, complete with money he was set to send to his family in China, whom he helps support. He cuts marble for a company in Brooklyn.
Young originally called a news conference to appeal for the public’s help in finding Li’s lost documents.
After returning home from work, however, Li realized in his haste to get to his job on time, he had left his wallet and passport in his work uniform from the night before.
“I was so happy to find them,” he said, smiling.
Li acknowledged that while he may have been a few minutes late to work, he was right on time to save someone’s life.
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