Girl Dropped Onto Rail Track By Fare-Dodging Mother

by Scott Baker

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A woman’s bid to avoid paying a train fare nearly cost her the life of her daughter.

Video released Friday by the commuter rail operator shows the woman guiding the child underneath the platform, apparently trying to hide from ticket collectors. The woman appears set to join the child hiding under the platform when suddenly she sees the train approaching. The woman scrambles back up onto the platform, but her daughter remains below.

“We quickly cut the electrical current to avoid any accident,” said manager Guillermo D’Abenigno of Buenos Aires Trains. “You couldn’t hear anything. We feared the worst — that the girl was dead, torn to pieces under the train,” he added.

Workers ultimately were able to crawl underneath the platform where they found the girl terrified but unharmed, safely ensconced inside a tiny nook. “It was a mishap with a little luck,” D’Abenigno said.

Authorities have not given any identifying details on the mother or the daughter, who appears to be a toddler or slightly older. It was not immediately known if the mother would face charges. D’Abenigno said people commonly do “all kinds of things to get out of paying the fare.”