What would the ruling be?

[Sparks]

Although the person threw his hand face down in a forward motion, it did not touch the muck, and it did not cause action behind him. Therefore, I'd say the hand is probably still live. The fact that another player caused him to retrieve his hand might not be enough to kill the hand because it is not an example of the generally understood "one player to a hand" rule.

If I were the floorman, I think I might let the hand be retrievable. Note that the dealer is NOT supposed to push a pot until all hands have been killed, which usually means taking folded hands and bringing them into the muck. The dealer had not killed the hand yet.

Sparks