As Train Approached, EG Officer Pulls Despondent Man from Tracks with Seconds to Spare

East Greenwich Patrolman Matthew C. White is being called a hero after saving the life of a despondent man who clung to train tracks near the London Bridge as a train approached.

White, as a group of people that included several children watched, managed to pull the man from the tracks moments before an Amtrak train rushed by.

According to a police report, White was dispatched to the area of the tracks near the intersection of London and Duke Streets at about 3:44 p.m. on April 3.

Police had received a 911 phone call from a woman who said a man appeared to be intoxicated and was stumbling down the tracks.

Upon arrival, White saw the man, identified by police as a 54-year-old East Greenwich resident, lying on the tracks. He radioed to dispatchers and told them to contact Amtrak to stop all approaching trains.

White then made his way down towards the tracks, yelling for the man to get off the rails. As he got closer, he saw a train approaching from the south.

“I then sprinted as fast as I could to [the man] and grabbed him by the jacket in an attempt to get him off the tracks,” White said in his report.

The man began to kick and swing his arms and in a sedated voice, said “Matt, let me go. It’s over, it’s over.”

The man kept repeating the statement and grabbed hold of the tracks, clinging tightly. As the train got closer, White, knowing that time was running out, punched the man in the shoulders to loosen his grip.

The man then “forced his body into dead weight” and White was able to pick him up over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry.

“Due to the fast approaching train and the direct proximity of the high speed traveling train, I was forced to toss [the man] onto the west side ground of the tracks approximately 5 to 10 feet from the tracks, and then dive off the tracks onto [the man] in order to avoid the passing train,” White said.

White then lay on top of the man to stop him from running back onto the tracks. The man struggled, swinging his arms in an attempt to get free.

Once the train had passed, the man once again made his body become dead weight. It was then that White saw another train approaching in the opposite direction on the same track. White put the man back over his shoulder, got farther away from the tracks and put the man over a nearby chain link fence.

The man was finally handcuffed and transported to Kent County Hospital for evaluation a short time later.

Police said the man, who has been charged with trespassing, appeared to be under the influence of some type of narcotic.

The woman who called 911 told police that she saw the man stumbling down the street and he could barely stand up. He then climbed over the fence and fell several times on the westmost track heading south. She yelled several times but he didn’t respond. He eventually fell and did not get up and began smoking a cigarette, she said.

From where she was standing, the woman said it looked like the man was trying to kill himself and said it seemed as though he “timed the trains and was purposely sitting on those tracks.”

She said it took her about 10 minutes before she realized his true intentions and called police. White arrived moments later — and not a moment too soon.