The blind man who survived a harrowing tumble onto the subway tracks in Harlem yesterday morning insists his guide dog was not to blame for the mishap—in fact, he says the devoted hound saved his life. Cecil Williams, 61, was feeling faint on his way to the dentist when he got too close to the edge of the platform at the 125th Street A/B/D station. "He was just walking toward the yellow line and all of a sudden and we heard him say, 'Oh no!' and slip and fall onto the tracks," witness Ashley Prenza told us yesterday.
The dog, Orlando, jumped down into the tracks to join Williams, who told the AP from his hospital bed, "The dog saved my life." Just before his fall, Williams says Orlando was trying to hold him up. Once they were both down on the tracks, an MTA worker urged Williams to lie down in the shallow trench between the rails. He heeded the advice, and kept Orlando down too; as a result, both survived an incoming A train that roared into the station soon after.
Williams, who is on Insulin and other medication, was not struck by the train, which covered him and Orlando by about one and a half car lengths. He sustained a minor head injury in the fall, and was soon extricated by the FDNY. "I'm feeling amazed," Williams told the AP. "I feel that God, the powers that be, have something in store for me. They didn't take me away this time. I'm here for a reason."
Orlando was not injured, but Williams says the dog will turn 11 next month and retire. The AP reports that Williams's medical benefits "will cover a new guide dog but won't pay for a non-working dog, so he'll be looking for a good home for Orlando. If he had the money, Williams said, 'I would definitely keep him.' " If only there was some way we could raise money over the Internet so that Williams and Orlando could stay together forever...
Update: Ah, here it is.
