With seconds to spare, Boynton officer pulls suicidal man off railway tracks

Cory Herny's actions described as 'heroic' by interim Boynton Beach police chief

August 2, 2013|By Brett Clarkson, Sun Sentinel

Officer Cory Herny didn't have a lot of time. The man was lying across the railway tracks, and the train was barreling down on him.

So adrenaline sent the 23-year-old officer sprinting. He yelled for the man to get off the tracks, but the guy wouldn't get up. The man, in his 50s, was crying and telling Herny to just let him die.

Herny didn't like that option.

It was about 12:17 a.m. Friday on the tracks near the 500 block of East Ocean Avenue in Boynton Beach.

Herny got to the man and grabbed at his feet to pull him off the tracks, but the man didn't want to be moved.

He also appeared to be intoxicated. From what Herny could gather, the man was upset about the death of his mother.

Meanwhile the train, heading toward them from north of Boynton Beach Boulevard, was getting closer.

Herny stepped off the tracks, grabbed at the man's shirt and yanked him to safety.

The train blasted past.

"The train was probably a good five or 10 seconds from hitting him," Herny said Friday afternoon. "That's how close we were."

The officer, with the Boynton Beach department since February 2012, said his immediate feeling was relief.

But then he had to focus on the task at hand: holding the man down until a backup officer arrived.

"He was very visibly upset, saying we should've let him die," Herny said.

Another officer who arrived at the scene took the man into custody. The man was driven to JFK Medical Center and held under the Florida Mental Health Act, also known as the Baker Act, which allows for a person to be held for a mental health assessment for up to 72 hours.

"I thought it was a particularly heroic act on the part of one of our officers," said interim Boynton Beach Police Chief Jeffrey Katz.

Katz, who took the helm of Boynton Beach police last month, Tweeted about the incident on Friday afternoon.

"Kudos to Ofc. Herny who risked his life last night to remove a suicidal man from RR tracks while train was bearing down!" Katz posted.

Before he was driven away, the distraught man said 'thanks,' Herny said. He seemed grateful for the rescue.

Police were alerted to the situation after somebody called the 211 crisis line to report a distressed man potentially near the railway tracks, Herny said.

Herny, who was also named Boynton Beach's Officer of the Month for December 2012 after his work in apprehending three home invasion suspects, was the first to respond because he was in the area.

Because the incident involved the Baker Act, the man's name couldn't be released. Herny said didn't know the man's name anyway, and hoped that he recovers.

"I just hope he gets help," Herny said.


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