D3 football player becomes hero on runaway train to New York

A Thanksgiving Eve travel disaster was avoided in part because of the actions of a Division 3 football player on Wednesday night. Reuben Clarke, a freshman offensive lineman on Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) football team, was credited by passengers as being the man who managed to pull an emergency brake on a detached Amtrak car traveling from Montreal to New York.

“He saved our lives tonight,” Helen Crane, a passenger on the train, said. “Our car broke off from the rest of the train and was picking up speed. There was no Amtrak personnel in our car. Reuben calmly went into action and pulled the emergency brake at the front of the car. Thankful he was on the train with my son and I.”

None of the 287 passengers and crew were injured, according to a report from CNN.

The Montreal to New York train was traveling near Albany, New York, at about 7:20 p.m. Wednesday when two cars separated from the engine, Amtrak spokesman Jason Abrams said in a statement. Of the 287 passengers and crew, he said, no one was injured. The passengers were transferred to a new train, Abrams said.

Holiday travel is always heavy and accidents will happen, but fortunately, the passengers on this train had Clarke riding with them at the right time. Surely, everyone has reason to be thankful for him on this Thanksgiving.

Helme sticker to D3football.com.