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A month after a visiting teenager fell through a platform gap at the Woodside Long Island Railroad station and died, a 4 year old fell into a platform gap at Penn Station. Little Britney Walker, and her family, who moved to Long Island because their Mississippi home was damaged by Hurricane Katrina, were boarding an LIRR train to Huntington, and when Britney fell, her mother Terrian Walker had been walking right behind her, but she was pulling luggage from a trip. Their family friend Walter Casey tried to reach for her, but was shocked - of all the places to land, she landed on top of the third rail, though luckily on its "protective housing." The Post reports MTA cop Raymond Weingard as saying, "She was kind of like sitting on the third rail, on the guard rail. We were telling her not to move. She was crying, asking for her mother." The power was cut and Britney was recovered by a LIRR worker; she was also taken to Bellevue with only had some scratches and bruises.
The Daily News says that the gaps at that platform ranged from 7 to 10 inches - maybe not enough for an adult to fall through, but enough to be certainly tripped by it and clearly enough for a child to fall through. (Yes, yes, parents should hold onto their kids, but what if the kid lets go when he/she falls?) And the gaps at other stations are as big as 15 inches. LIRR commuter advocates have been calling for better platform gap safety measures.
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You DON'T walk BEHIND a 4 year old. I don't care how much luggage you have, or what kind of a hurry you're in...you HOLD ONTO your child. Yes, the gaps are dangerous and need to be fixed, but parents need to be responsible for their children.
It might be worth reviewing the safety of the platforms in the New York City subway system as well as the LIRR. Boarding the 4, I fell into the gap between train and platform at Union Square a few months ago. My left left became wedged between the two -- but lucky for me --I was able to get it out. Has anyone else had similar experience?
There are, um, signs that say "Mind the Gap," and they're up there for a reason. And for people who can't read or for whom english is not the first language, well, there is a nice diagram on the sign as well.
And for mothers who let their kids fall into gaps, there should be fines and visits from social services until those mothers learn how to handle their offspring responsibly--it's common f*cking sense that a four-year-old may not quite be inclined to know to mind the gap or what the consequences of not doing so may be.
Don't be retarded. If you are holding your kids hand and they drop down a hole you won't be able to hang on. If you could you'd be clenching their hand like a mofo.
A potentially electrifying experience, oui?.
I've been reading about dangerous gaps for months now and each time it sounds like nothing is being done. Jesus. Is it going to take some poor kid getting run over for them to fix this?
If her luggage is more important than her kid, it's no wonder the poor thing fell.
Here's a thought. Why not a targeted campaign at the out-of-towners who apparently can't handle the concept of boarding a train?
You can't blame out of towners for not knowing the "rules". If I dug a spike-filled pit in my street but put a sign up to warn people, I'd still be wrong.
I wonder how many people we will watch die before some genius bolts some planks of wood to the platforms? They'll probably come a couple of years after we get an extra map or two per subway car.