Jonathan Parisen, an independent filmmaker who was the first to make a dramatized film about 9/11, still hasn't thanked the Good Samaritan who is clinging to life after helping rescue him from the Staten Island railroad tracks early Sunday morning. According to witnesses, Parisen was drunk at the time, and there are conflicting accounts about how he got down there in the first place. But according to court papers obtained by the Staten Island Advance, Parisen told an MTA cop, "I jumped in the tracks. I thought it was funny." What a cut-up, that Parisen! The only way to top this gag would be to pee on the third rail.
It's safe to assume the man who saved his life, Steven Santiago, isn't laughing. He remains in critical condition after getting hit in the head by the oncoming train, and his family says Parisen has not expressed gratitude. After leaving his arraignment hearing yesterday, Parisen was approached by a Post reporter, who reportedly "gave him several chances to say thanks to Steven Santiago." But Parisen would only say, "I have nothing to say... No, no no."
Naturally, the Post stirred the pot by sharing Parisen's reticence with Santiago's "gal pal" Marisol Salgado, who told the tabloid, "That’s wrong. He’s being selfish. He should thank him." Parisen, who faces a criminal-trespass charge, is out on $2,500 bail. The indie filmmaker has not made a Tweet since the day of the incident, when he told the World Wide Web, "Off to do some much needed food shopping then I shall spend a relaxing day at home watching Netflix."
