Edison Commuter Robbed While Helping Woman Who Fell On Tracks

EDISON, NJ — The old saying is true: No good deed goes unpunished. A commuter on NJ Transit Friday morning jumped onto the train tracks to help a woman who fainted — only to have his backpack stolen by another commuter, Edison police said. The backpack contained his laptop and about $200 in cash.

The incident happened Friday morning at the Edison NJ Transit station. Shortly after 7:40. a.m., a 26-year-old woman, identified by police as Madhuri Recherla of Edison, fainted and toppled off the train station platform onto the northbound tracks, said investigating officer James Navas. Another commuter, Anil Vannavalli, 34, of Piscataway, dropped his backpack on the platform and leaped onto the train tracks. Recherla was still unconscious, and he had to pick her up and carry her to safety, police said.

While Vannavalli was doing that, an unidentified thief among the crowd of morning commuters used the opportunity to steal his backpack, police said. The backpack contained his laptop computer and headphones, valued at $700; about $200 in cash; and his work identification card, police said.

“This theft, perpetrated in the midst of such a selfless good deed, is nothing less than appalling and disgusting,” said Police Chief Thomas Bryan.

The woman was semi-conscious when officers Navas and Lisa Cimmino arrived at the train station She was transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Medical Center, in New Brunswick, for treatment.

The Northeast Corridor Edison station looking southward towards Trenton Transit Center/Wikimedia Commons image/Adam Moss