Tragedy almost struck at Journal Square station in Hudson County when the PATH train approached during rush hour last Thursday. A woman, in her 70s, fell onto the tracks after she stumbled on the platform. A bystander, James Baber, saw the woman on the tracks from the walkway above the train platform.
Baber is an employee of Hudson County and was on his way to law school in Newark. Baber, 24, described the incident as a “moment of pure adrenaline and instinct.” Baber jumped onto Track 3 and pulled the woman to safety prior to the train arriving at the station.
The incident occurred at 6:10 p.m. last Thursday when the unidentified woman fell onto the tracks. Port Authority spokesman Ron Marsico said that she was admitted to a hospital in good condition.
Baber is a student at Seton Hall University Law School and has been working for the Hudson County law department since May of 2012. “It’s not like there was much of a thought process,” Baber said on Monday. “There was a man waving his arms to signal the train to stop, but no one else was going to be able to get there in time.”
The Jersey Journal was told of the good deed of Baber by one of his co-workers, Clora Morrison. “I felt that he should get the recognition that he deserves. The whole incident reminded me of my mother, who takes the public transportation all the time.”