The 19-year-old was hospitalized with serious leg injuries after getting pinned under a trolley near the 69th Street Terminal in Upper Darby.
The incident happened around 8:00 a.m. along the tracks between both lanes of Terminal Square on West Chester Pike, just outside the terminal.
According to SEPTA officials, Tyson had missed the Route 101 trolley at the terminal and was running to the next stop. A witness said Tyson was even banging on the side of the trolley, trying to get it to stop and pick him up - which is not allowed.
He allegedly ran between the trolley and a pedestrian barrier railing - opposite the passenger side of the tracks. That's when the trolley snagged Tyson's backpack and jacket, dragging him under the car.
Witness Al Harris of Secane saw it all happen.
"The guy waved at him, kept running, trolley hit him - took him under like a rag doll," Harris said.
Rescue crews worked quickly and in tandem, unfastening the barriers to give Tyson room, keeping him calm and attending to medical needs. Crews used airbags to lift the trolley off the tracks and were eventually able to remove Tyson at 8:50 a.m.
"All we needed was about three inches to lift the wheels off the tracks, and we got our three inches using the airbags," Captain Tom Sessa of the Upper Darby Fire Department said.
"Whether or not the operator saw this person running along the side - that's part of the investigation. But this is a very, very dangerous intersection - there's cars, there's trolleys, there's buses," SEPTA spokesperson Jerri Williams said.
SEPTA officials wanted to point out that there is no reason for anyone to chase down a trolley in that area during the morning rush, since the trolleys run every five minutes.
