An Irish immigrant has had a miracle escape in New York, after being run over by a subway train three times yesterday – and living to tell the tale.
Mary Downey only suffered a broken shoulder after falling on to the tracks at 49th Street station.
The 22-year-old, who was conscious the whole time, appears to have moved herself so she was in the trough between the rails as three trains careered overhead.
Ms Downey was taken to hospital, but has been released and is now recovering at her home in the Bronx area of New York.
The dramatic incident happened at 6am yesterday morning as she made her way home after a night out.
Downey walked into the subway station to get a train, but toppled over and fell on to the tracks, breaking her shoulder as a northbound train on the N line was approaching.
According to police sources, there were two possibilities as to how Downey survived.
She may have managed to move her body between the rails, or she could have wriggled into the gap between the rails and the tracks.
The first driver did not realise he had driven over her, neither did the second. It was only the third subway train driver who realised something was wrong, but initially thought it was a piece of rubbish on the track.
In fact, it was Ms Downey’s hand waving for help.
The driver hit the brakes and paramedics pulled Ms Downey from under the train and took her to Bellevue hospital, covered in black soot.
She was released a few hours later in a wheelchair with her arm in a sling.
A friend said she she was “doing really well and just fractured her shoulder”.