(Newser) – A 47-year-old blind man had what authorities are calling a miraculous escape after falling off the edge of a Los Angeles Metro platform and into the path of an oncoming train. A transport authority spokesman says the man had been using his cane to feel toward the edge of the platform when he tumbled onto the tracks. The train, which was unable to stop in time, rolled right over him; he survived shaken but injured, reports the Los Angeles Times.

The man, who had fallen into the track bed between the rail and the base of the platform, lay flat as the train came to a halt above him. He wasn't touched by the train, but was trapped for around 20 minutes and was taken to hospital afterward for observation. "In my view this is a miraculous occurrence," the transport authority spokesman tells the AP. "The man is exceedingly lucky to be alive." (Read more subway stories.)

