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Conductors On Westport Train Help Autistic Teen Find His Way Home

WESTPORT, Conn. — Two Metro-North conductors and two MTA Police officers were recognized for helping an unattended autistic boy on a westbound train near Westport reunite with his family on May 25.

Several MTA employees were honored for helping return an autistic teen to his family in Queens.

Several MTA employees were honored for helping return an autistic teen to his family in Queens.

Photo Credit: MTA

Metro-North Railroad Conductor Sean Tedesco and Assistant Conductor Charles Dolan spotted the teen on their westbound 11:46 a.m. train from New Haven on Sunday, April 16. The young man, later identified as 18-year-old Kahchi Ng, didn't seem to understand when asked for his ticket, would not communicate and avoided eye contact with the conductors.

Tedesco and Dolan determined Ng should not have been on the train unattended and contacted the authorities to find out where Ng was supposed to be. 

Officers Desire Bokor and Armando Hernandez coaxed the Ng to leave the train at Stamford, motioning for him to join them on a bench inside a platform shelter house. But with commuters gathering around them, the officers sensed he was becoming increasingly stressed by the environment and took him to the MTA Police office in the station. 

Once in the office, Bokor and Hernandez found Ng hanging on to a key chain with an address in Astoria, Queens and a phone number. Swee Chan Cheong, Ng's mother, told officers her son had been missing since 8 a.m. that morning. 

The officers then drove the Ng back to Queens where he was reunited with his family.

“On any given day, Metro-North conductors can interact with thousands of customers. The fact that Conductor Sean Tedesco and Assistant Conductor Charles Dolan took special notice of Kahchi and recognized the need to help him speaks volumes about our exceptional levels of professionalism and customer care at Metro-North," MTA Interim Executive Director Veronique “Ronnie” Hakim said in a statement. 

"Officer Desire Bokor and Officer Armando Hernandez made it their mission to bring Kahchi safely home to his family. I extend my thanks and gratitude to Sean, Charles, Desire and Armando for reuniting this vulnerable young man with his family." 

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