Sad twist as young woman who saved a man after he fainted on the train tracks in Redfern dies

A woman who leapt into the path of an oncoming train to save a man who fell unconscious onto the tracks has died.

Ashley, who was not publicly identified at the time, earned public praise after saving the 57-year-old man at Redfern Station, in Sydney, in April 2022.

A family friend revealed in a heartbreaking Instagram post on Saturday the Good Samaritan had died less than a year since the heroic act.

Ashley had risked her own life to hoist the man off the tracks after he fainted and fell off the platform at Redfern Station.

Incredible footage of the incident showed Ashley and another woman struggling to help the man up off the rails as a train screeched towards them.

Station staff tried desperately to signal the driver and urgently-waved red flags before the train slammed on its brakes. 

Ashley was the only person who remained on the tracks, beside the injured man. The train came to a halt just millimetres from where they stood.

Both survived the ordeal at the time, with the man being taken to hospital.

Ashley was lauded for her bravery but her identity remained a mystery until a family friend announced her tragic death over the weekend.

‘My sincere condolences to Tommy & family & friends lost a very young ‘Angel Ashley’,’ he wrote on Instagram.

The family friend shared a photo of the pair smiling at the camera.

‘She was the young woman who saved the man who fell on Redfern railway tracks,’ he wrote.

‘Should’ve been awarded bravery.’

The man is believed to have fainted at Redfern, with the scenes horrifying for many witnesses

Loved ones left heartfelt tributes in the comments as they shared their condolences.

‘It’s a cruel hard life for many,’ one person wrote.

A friend wrote a heartfelt tribute to Ashley on Saturday (pictured). She saved the life of a man who fell onto train tracks last year

‘Keep that smile on your face … it shields a good deal of pain. Love you brother.’

Another said: ‘Sorry for your sad news…a true heroine.’ 

Rox G Molavin, the Sydney commuter who filmed the incident, told Daily Mail Australia at the time that he was thankful the injured man didn’t die. 

‘It was a harrowing experience,’ he said.

‘I wasn’t sure what to do myself…I didn’t know what was going to happen.’

‘People were screaming as the train was coming closer – I heard it over the speaker – so I feared the worst.

He said the victim was a ‘large man’ and recalled it took about six people to help him off the tracks, once the vehicle stopped. 

‘It was all very confronting, and it reminded me the importance of standing a safe distance back on the platform at all times,’ he said.

Police and emergency services arrived soon after the man and woman’s miracle escape and the elderly man was helped back on to the platform and taken away for treatment.