BEACON – A four-year-old Poughkeepsie boy, who stepped into the gap between a Metro-North train and the platform at the Beacon Train Station just before noon on Thursday was lucky and escaped the ordeal with just some scrapes.

The boy, who was with his mother and an older sibling, had boarded the train in Poughkeepsie, where they live, for a holiday ride to Beacon. The boy’s father and an older child drove in the family car to pick them up.

Metro-North spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said it wasn’t clear if the boy’s mom was holding onto his hand when he stepped into the gap and landed standing on the tracks below.

An off-duty NYPD officer, who was there, pulled the boy to safety.

Anders’ advice to parents is to hold onto their children at all times when getting on and off the train.