LOWER MANHATTAN — A man lost consciousness and exhibited signs of a suspected drug overdose on top of the World Trade Center subway elevator entrance during a New York Knicks championship parade on June 18, 2026. Bystander Peter Shrieve-Don climbed the subway structure to assist the man after a police officer instructed onlookers not to approach.

Simone Kelly, an off-duty volunteer with the South Orange Rescue Squad, also climbed the subway structure and provided medical assistance. Shrieve-Don described the man's condition. "He wasn't doing well. I looked up, I watched the man start vomiting, I watched his eyes roll back. I'm just desperate trying to get the guy up." He said.

She observed that the man's pupils were pinpoint, which she identified as a sign of an opiate overdose. "When we looked in his eyes, he had pinpoint pupils, which is at telltale sign of an opiate overdose or opiate use in general." She said. An individual in the crowd threw a dose of Narcan up to the group on the structure. She administered Narcan into the man's nose and performed sternum rubs.

Paramedics arrived at the scene and transported the man on a stretcher. The medical condition of the man was not immediately released to the public. Shrieve-Don later posted video footage documenting the rescue on Instagram.

She commented on the public nature of the event. "I hope having so many eyes shows that we have an epidemic going on." She said. She stated she hopes the public attention from the incident will assist her application for medical school admission.

He reflected on personal responsibility during emergencies. "We're all just going to do this dance here we got, we're saying somebody, somebody, somebody, and sometimes that somebody's got to be you." He said.