Revealed: Hero, 24, who saved man's LIFE in dramatic rescue during New York Knicks victory parade after defying cops' orders

By JOE HUTCHISON, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 14:25, 19 June 2026 | Updated: 14:53, 19 June 2026 An off-duty EMT enjoying the New York Knicks victory parade managed to save a man's life after defying the orders of police in a now viral moment.  Simone Kelly, a volunteer EMT with South Orange Rescue Squad, in New Jersey, leaped into action after the man suffered a suspected drug overdose on Thursday.  The 24-year-old was perched on top of a sanitation truck enjoying the ticker tape parade when she spotted the man slump over while atop a subway elevator.  Kelly, who is pre-med, told the Daily Mail that she saw the unknown man drinking alcohol alongside two others when they were asked to get down by the cops.  The two others managed to get down safely but the man remained, with Kelly saying that he started swaying on the spot after getting 'more, and more inebriated'. After the man collapsed onto the top of the elevator, the crowd watched and shouted for him to be pulled down when Kelly and others ran to his rescue.  Kelly said: 'I saw how this could end and it would end with him falling off and we would have much bigger problems.' Initially, an officer at the scene was hesitant to let Kelly and a few others, one of whom was also an EMT, on to the elevator to reach the man. 'The cop is like "you can't go up there", the cop is like I called 911. I don't understand what he was doing but eventually he was like "go bring him down".' Simone Kelly, pictured here, leaped into action after the man suffered a suspected drug overdose on Thursday Kelly is pictured here attending to the man atop the subway elevator in Lower Manhattan on Thursday Kelly managed to have herself hoisted up onto the elevator platform from others in the crowd and worked alongside others to bring the man around.  Describing the man's condition, she said: 'He's not out cold but he's just unresponsive.  'We started rubbing him, some roughhousing. You kind of want [say] "hey buddy, are you okay?", and move them all over the place.  'So that's why you see me rubbing his chest, can I do anything that will elicit a response.  'If you're faking it, if you're sleeping it, it's pretty hard to sleep through one of those. And he's still not responding.' It was after this that the group poured water over him in case he was overheating when someone from the crowd threw a Narcan kit to the group.  Kelly quickly administered the drug and managed to bring the lifeless man back with a shot of the opioid reversal drug.  The man lurched upright and attempted to kiss Kelly several times before she pushed him back down.  She told the Daily Mail that she usually carries Narcan on her at all times but left it at home after thinking that nobody would use opiates at the parade.  The man was revived thanks to a shot of Narcan administered by Kelly after a member of the crowd tossed the opioid reversal drug to her  Kelly, who is pre-med, told the Daily Mail that she seen the unknown man drinking alcohol and was becoming increasingly inebriated as the parade continued 'Opiates are a downer and you don't see many of those at these types of events. So I didn't bring it, but I usually do.  'I remember it in my hand and I was like, I can't bring a bag. I don't really have any pockets, so I'll just leave it. So thank god someone had it.' She urged everyone to carry the reversal kit, saying it was available at pharmacies and communities handed them out for free. According to Kelly, the man had all the hallmarks of being under the influence of an opioid, with pinpoint pupils and labored breathing but she did not formally diagnose it. Speaking about the man attempting to kiss her, she said: 'Not being my first rodeo, I gave him the cold shoulder twice.  'Then it was "sit down, this is not how we are doing this". Unfortunately I've had to use that voice a little too many times in my career.' The man was eventually precariously moved from the top of the elevator and handed over to an ambulance crew who carried him away in a stretcher, his condition remains unknown.  Kelly is seen here atop the sanitation truck that she leapt from to attend to the man The crowd chanted 'MVP' after Kelly handed the man over to awaiting ambulance teams Kelly described the ordeal as a 'life-changing experience' and was cheered as she returned to her viewpoint atop the sanitation truck. She added: 'Occasionally someone would come up and be like, "hey, you were that hero girl or like MVP or what's up? Like, you really saved that man's life". Things like that. But for the most part, like, I was just another New Yorker.' Multiple angles of her administering the Narcan have emerged on social media since the incident on Thursday, being viewed millions of times.  On her newfound fame, she added: 'It's definitely weird scrolling on my for you page and seeing my face.' Peter Shrieve-Don had caught the rescue on his own camera that he wore to the parade.  It was Shrieve-Don who first clambered to the top of the elevator, before Kelly and others followed suit.  He shared footage of the incident, saying: 'I went up because the guy went out hard, no one was doing anything, and there wasn’t time.  'Once I did get to him, it was clear that it was serious enough to require someone who knew more than me. Simone Kelly you are a hero and you forever have my gratitude. 'Sometimes, if you see something, DO something. I’m glad there were people who knew what they were doing (not me). I do love this city. Knicks in 5.' The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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