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Vet pulls man from N.Y. subway track

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NEW YORK, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- A New York man who pulled a drunken man out of the path of an oncoming subway train said he was driven by "instincts" during the rescue.

Isidore Branham, 38, a U.S. Army veteran, said he was at the 135th Street-Lenox Avenue station early Thursday when he spotted Timothy Moriarity, 57, lying drunkenly on the train tracks, the New York Post reported Friday.

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"This woman cried out, 'Oh, my God, somebody fell in the tracks!'" Branham said. "My instincts just came alive. All the training kicked in. I thought, 'I'm here. I can't let this man die.'"

Branham said he ran to the end of the platform and jumped onto the rail bed as the No. 2 train approached.

"He was inside the rail bed between the ties. I picked him up from his arms and dragged him across the rails," he said. "Once I got to the platform, I picked him up from the waist. I wanted to do a fireman's carry but there was no time. The train was coming.

"I grabbed him by his belt. I scooped him up and pushed him on the platform. I curled him and lifted him in front of my body. This guy was really heavy. It was a shock to my body, but I was strong enough," Branham said.

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"About 45 seconds after I got him on the platform, the train passed by safely. I backed away when cops and EMS arrived," he said.

Moriarity was unconscious and breathing through a tube Thursday at Harlem Hospital's intensive care unit.

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