SUBWAY HERO RIDES FREE
MetroCard good for 1 year after he nabs derailer
A subway hero gets a free ride.
Rikien Wilder was awarded a yearlong unlimited MetroCard by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Wednesday for his efforts to thwart and detain a vandal who caused a catastrophic subway derailment.
Wilder received the honor at an MTA board meeting, a day after the Daily News tracked him down and published the full story of his heroic actions.
The 44-year-old sound engineer leaped on to the A line express tracks at the 14th St. station Sunday to remove debris the saboteur placed on the roadbed seconds before a train rolled through.
When the vandal — identified by cops as Demetrius Harvard — later derailed a separate train by placing more debris on the tracks, Wilder chased him down aid Foye. “But in Harvard before police arhis case, Mr. rived — and said bystanders Wilder did it at just recorded his struggle great peril to himon their phones instead of elf and in the inhelping.
.teerest of protecting “Watching TV… I always thhe lives of New remembered that they Yorkers, fellow would always get away, the customers and our person stealing someone, or eemployees.” the stabbing, the murderer
Wilder, who or the rapist,” said Wilder. liives in Chelsea “And that always bothered me.”aandgrewupinRed
BBank, N.J., said Wilder said he fell in love Harvard was with the subway as a young laaughing at the deboy when his uncle would struction he take him into the city, addccaused. ing that he’s continued to
That made the use the system during the ccommuter deterCOVID-19 pandemic. minedm to make The Good Samaritan was sure the maniac was ar
also awarded with a placard rested for his crime.
depicting subway tiles that “I’ve never really consid
read “HERO OF THE ered myself a hero,” said
SUBWAY.”
Wilder. “As a child, my
“What you did for your mother always encouraged
fellow New Yorkers is asme to always look out for
tonishing,” said interim people in the neighbor
NYC Transit President hood, kids at school. So it
Sarah Feinberg. “You’re was kind of natural thing for me to respond like I did.” clearly a hero of the subway,
Wilder sprained his wrist and we don’t say that while in his tussle with lightly.” and held him for 15 minutes until police arrived.
MTA Chairman Patrick Foye said the year of free rides — worth more than $1,500 — was the highest honor the agency could give to a civilian, and the first time it’s been awarded.
“Normally we don’t encourage riders, customers to go down onto the tracks,”