Israeli Train Driver Narrowly Averts Suicide on the Tracks
by Zach Pontz
Due to their speed and momentum, jumping in front of trains has become an unfortunately convenient way to commit suicide in Israel in recent years.
Video obtained by Israel’s Channel 2 shows footage of a man attempting to do just that. The video, taken from cameras at the Haifa train station where the scene unfolded, shows a man charging onto the tracks and placing himself in the train’s path. Fortunately, the train conductor was alerted and was able to stop the train just before it hit the man.
While onlookers reported a “chilling scene,” according to the Channel 2, the conductor disembarked from the train and approached the man. The Channel quoted the conductor describing what happened next: “I stood in front of him, face to face. He was upset and he had nothing to say except that he wants to die. He asked why [am I] not running him down.”