NYC Subway Rider Dies After Getting Caught in Closing Doors, Dragged and Struck by Oncoming Train
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A New York City subway rider died Monday when he was dragged by a train after getting caught up in its closing doors.
The victim, a 20-year-old man from New Jersey, had run to catch a southbound No. 1 train at the 59th Street-Columbus Circle station just before 5 p.m., when his clothes or a backpack became stuck in the train doors, CBS News reports.
The man was dragged along when the train started moving and was then hit by an oncoming train, according to WNBC. The man, whose identity has not been revealed, died of his injuries.
"While the investigation is in its earliest stages, it appears this was a terrible accident that did not involve criminal activity," New York City Transit President Richard Davey said in the statement. "A person on the tracks was hit by a train and our thoughts are with his family, the train operator and riders who witnessed this tragedy."
Davey added that his agency will "get to the cause and learn any lessons that may emerge as there is no higher priority than safety."
"It's every New Yorker's worst nightmare that rides the subway," a pedestrian told WNBC after the incident occurred. "You're so close to the trains. The platforms are crowded. It just takes one misstep."
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While Davey emphasized that the tragedy did not appear to "involve criminal activity," Monday's rush hour incident follows two others in New York City where subway riders were knocked onto train tracks.
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On Friday, a man pushed a rider off of the platform and onto the tracks at the Wyckoff Avenue-Myrtle Avenue station, per CNN. On Sunday, an elderly man was punched in the back of the head at a Bronx subway station, causing him to fall onto the tracks.
Neither riders were hit by trains but sustained injuries, CNN reported.
