EDISON -- A man's laptop and cash were stolen Friday morning after he jumped onto the tracks at the Edison train station to rescue a co-worker who fainted and fell from the platform, authorities said.

Anil Vennavalli, 34, dropped his backpack and leapt onto the tracks after the 26-year-old woman fainted and tumbled on to the eastbound tracks around 7:40 a.m., according to Edison police.

Two others joined Vennavalli in pulling his co-worker to safety just before a train arrived, News 12 New Jersey said.

While the Piscataway man carried the woman to safety, someone swiped his backpack, which contained his $700 computer, $200 cash, headphones and his work identification. News 12 also said his train tickets were in the bag.

"This theft, perpetrated in the midst of such a selfless good deed, seems so very disgusting and outrageous," Edison police chief Thomas Bryan said in a statement.

Emergency workers brought the woman to nearby Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick with a fractured knee and broken ankle, News 12 reported. The woman said she fainted because she didn't have time to have something to eat or drink that morning.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.