A Con Ed supervisor says instinct just took over when he jumped to the tracks and crossed two third rails to rescue a man who had fallen off a subway platform in Manhattan. Transit Reporter Jose Martinez has the story.

"This is right where the gentleman was lying," said 29-year-old Jonathan Kulig, Con Ed engineer. "I came across between one of those two beams, picked him up."

Kulig returned Tuesday to the subway station at 3rd Avenue and 14th Street — where he saved a man who had fallen to the tracks.

The dramatic rescue was captured on a cell phone video.

The rescue began when Kulig, an Engineering Supervisor at Con Ed was heading to work Saturday night

"I hear people kind of making a little noise saying, 'Oh my God,'" Kulig said. "And then I look down as I'm walking I can see something moving down there, realized it was a person."

He says he assessed the situation and made a split-second decision.

"The announcement came on, saying that the train was about a minute away," Kulig said. "The guy wasn't moving, so I knew I had to go down there and get him, otherwise that train was going to hit him."

Kulig was on the eastbound platform and the man was on the westbound tracks, which meant he had to cross two third rails to reach the victim.

The video begins just as he crosses that second electrified rail.

At that point, Kulig says, instinct took over. He lifted the man and carried him to the platform where other riders helped him and pressed an emergency call button.

A short time later, a train rumbled into the station on that very track, and the man was taken to the hospital.

"He was responding with nods when I was asking him questions about, you know, if he was okay and whatnot," Kulig said.

Amazingly — a few weeks ago, Kulig took a track safety course required by Con Ed.

"I knew what the hazards were, I knew where to go to be safe. I knew what I had to do. So I don't want to say it wasn't dangerous, but because of that, I think that the risks were minimized as much as they could be.

Kulig went to work after leaving the man in the care of EMTs.

If he were to see the man whose life he helped save, Kulig says he knows exactly what he'd say to him.

"I would say, 'Use your second chance and enjoy. Enjoy your life.'"

One he came very close to losing.