Sheinelle Jones, co-host of NBC's Today show, recently experienced what she described as a "nightmare" ordeal when she became trapped on a New York City train for hours after falling asleep during a late-night journey from Philadelphia.
"I woke up and there was no one on the train," Jones recounted during an April 6 episode of Today With Jenna & Sheinelle. "I checked my phone, and guess what time it was? 12:20."
The 47-year-old journalist had been traveling on what she thought was a routine trip, but after dozing off, she found herself alone in the train car at the last stop. Realizing she had slept through her destination, Jones attempted to exit but discovered the doors were locked.
"'Surely I'll find a conductor or something,'" she recalled thinking before walking through the entire train with no one in sight. "I thought, 'No problem, I'll just push the exit thing.'"
When the doors failed to open—even after she tried prying them apart with her hands, bruising her finger in the process—Jones realized her predicament. "'Oh, I'm stuck on the train,'" she remembered thinking.
The television personality eventually called 911 for assistance, describing the experience as making her feel "like a toddler." Police responded to rescue her from the stationary train.
Interestingly, Jones' three children—16-year-old Kayin and 13-year-old twins Clara and Uche—weren't particularly concerned about her extended absence. According to Jones, they simply continued playing video games when she finally arrived home.
"That's another thing," she quipped. "I'm like, why didn't anybody care? Like, 'Mom, where are you?'"
Now safely through the experience, Jones offered some practical advice for fellow late-night travelers: "PSA—if you see someone's asleep on the train and it's the last stop, wake 'em up."