NEW YORK (WHDH) -- A Manhattan father was credited with saving the life of a stranger on the subway.

He was with his children when he saw someone lying on the tracks, and with just moments to react, he jumped into action.

For the Wetzel family, riding the subways comes with a warning. Greg Wetzel says he always tells his three children to stay far away from platform edge.

But on Saturday, he abandoned his own advice.

“As we approached this area about 20-feet, you could see a woman lying on the tracks there. And I have the three little ones and I had to make a decision at that point,” Wetzel said.

To make that decision, Wetzel looked to see when the next train was due to barrel through.

The woman was unconscious. With his kids watching, Wetzel jumped in to move her away from the deadly third rail, and towards the platform.

“Regardless of how much you weigh, the deadweight of a human being is, is heavy, unusually so,” Wetzel said.

With time at a minimum, he raced to come up with a plan b, getting her in the gap between the tracks.

“I felt that if I could at least maneuver her maybe in that area and then jump out, worst case scenario, the train would roll over her. But certainly, the way she was lying, she was right across the tracks,” said Wetzel said.

Wetzel managed to get the unconscious woman close enough to the platform for bystanders to lift her out. Paramedics took her to a local hospital.

EMT’s say she was apparently intoxicated when she fell and didn't provide her name.

Days later, her sneakers still mark the spot where she was rescued.

As for the Wetzels, they're hoping all those warnings to their kids will stick with them.