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Yesterday, right during the evening rush hour, someone jumped in front of an F train at the West 4th Street station. As it turned out, Pretty in the City's Karyn was on a train and describes how the MTA handled the situation:
the train came to an abrupt stop. After a few seconds, the conductor came over the loud speaker and said, "We have a customer on the track." As it turns out, someone committed suicide by jumping in front of the train. The train was just entering the West 4th stop.The person was DOA. The police described the person as an "emotionally disturbed person"; there are no details today. Service was delayed for a while along the F line.I was in the second to last car which wasn't in the station yet, so myself and the other passengers had to walk through all the cars to the front in order to get off the train. When we deboarded, the station was loaded with firemen and police officers, and they were looking under the train for the body, the person... it was so horrible. I didn't see any blood or anything - thank God - but there was a stretcher and other stuff.
And on Sunday, a man's body was found in the subway tunnel along the C train tracks near the 116th and Eighth Avenue station. Authorities do not think the man was hit by a train.
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why can't people end their lives on their own time. jump in front of the money train, or the trash train at 3am on the G line.
I’ve been in Karyn shoes before, but more people on the train were annoyed then sad about the incident. But then again it happened in Japan, where It seems to happens all the time.
Jeaz can't they wait until AFTER rush hour??
it's been a constant stream of delays on the F line for over three weeks now. last night was horrible. my usual commute of 40 minutes took 90 minutes. i really wish people who were suicidal could end their lives some other way... or that the NYPD could be quicker about their investigations so that service could resume. when my train finally passed through west 4th on the express track, there were about 30 cops on the platform milling around looking lost.
You're all assholes. It was really disturbing. It's a tragedy, not an inconvenience, not an opportunity to dis cops, not a time to suggest how they could have done it so that you wouldn't have been slowed down.
Of course it’s a tragedy.
But sorry Josh, that’s not the primary issue most people who are stuck on the train people focus on, especially if they know the reason as to why the train is delayed.
That question will be the Number one question people will most likely ask. Not as to WHY the person wanted to die. Its just human nature.
Suicide is indeed a tragedy, but it is a selfish act; moreso when on top of causing so much pain and suffering for your friends and family you inconvenience tens of thousands of people.
Sad very sad. New York City offers a lot of opportune places to do ones self in.
It's always sad when someone decides to take his/her life.
That being said, Karyn Bosnak (the person whose blog is linked above) is the gal who went way into credit card debt via shopping and begged people on the internet (savekaryn.com) for money to pay off her bills -- bringing her much-deserved scorn.
Sadly, there were enough fools out there willing to give her money (rather than give it to charity or something else infinitely more worthwhile) that she actually succeeded in her pathetic quest. Yuk!!
"...jump in front of the money train"
I wouldn’t recommend that
I saw the coroner outside loading the body in a van. I was not on the train but it was a disturbing site to see without knowing what caused this death. Now that I know it's, worse.
A person dies and you're pointing out that Karyn was tacky by raising money on her blog several years ago? Why would anyone care?
It was just a side note, anomalous (or should I say Karyn?).
Suicide is a selfish mode of death so inconvieniencing tens of thousands of holiday shoppers & everyday commuters probably doesn't matter to a person intent on killing themselves.
I was waiting for the B/D train going downtown right before he jumped. It was the most horrific thing to view no matter why he did it. I will never forget it. It happened around 5:40 Tuesday night on my way home from work.
The one woman that was next to the man who jumped screamed so loudly that every hair on my neck stood up. People along the F/V line that didnt see or know what happened panicked and were running away from the train, pushing and shoving people...thinking it was a bomb or something. This panic was unnecessary, but it was human nature to react to the scream in that way. The whole thing about "walk carefully to the exists without panic doesn't work in practice"
I felt horrible for the people on the F/V line because they probably did not get out for hours and they were totally unaware of the chaos happening (not to mention the trains behind it) My train came about 2 minutes later and I went home white as a ghost. I will never forget this....
Some of you folks are really selfish! I was upset that I had to take a $22 cab home to Brooklyn, but please, this is awful news ... especially around the holidays. Some poor family is probably reading all your nasty comments and crying.
When I was a teenager, I habitually crossed the tracks on the LIRR line. Often I'd look up and see a train coming right at me. It finally dawned on me that the conductor of the train would be the one that would have to live with the memory of my death by train: compassion for the conductor made me stop. Someone else I know, on the other hand -- and she's definitely not a very healthy person -- continues to tempt fate, and doesn't seem to give a damn for either herself or the horrified conductors of trains that are oncoming while she totters over the third rail.
When I think of people who throw themselves in front of trains, I feel pity for them (and their families), but I also feel anger at them -- it's terrible to force other people to be involved in your wish to die, but perhaps this is the whole point for some very disturbed people, to take some kind of perverse revenge against the world by leaving misery behind them.
I think this is what people who complain about them doing it in rush hour are feeling, but not articulating very well.
on top of causing so much pain and suffering for your friends and family you inconvenience tens of thousands of people.
That you put the two in the same sentence shows what a miserable human being you are.
Interesting load of thoughts here. I must say if I was going to kill myself now, after hearing all the selfish comments on how your commute was disturbed and cut into your CSI time, I would definitely throw myself onto the tracks during rush hour... with a BOMB strapped to my ass for a flourish!
That person probably thought, I've never made a difference in anyone's life, so I may as well do it now. How sad, and I hate how people let the holidays bum them out. Be miserable on your own! THINK FOR YOURSELF~
I love how Karyn turns a man's suicide into a plug for her VH1 appearance. Save Karyn from her self-importance.
To GWIN and MIKEY!...
I donated all the money I received from savekaryn.com AND THEN SOME to charity, so if you're going to pass judgment, make sure you have all the facts.
Also, while I appreciate Gothamist linking to this post, I never sent them the link or asked anyone else to do it for me, for that matter. With that said, I wasn't using this post as a way to plug a VH1 appearance. People who regularly read my blog knew I was taping the segment that day, and the F-train tragedy happened on the way home.
The post wasn't about me. Get over who I am and what I did, and then get on with your lives.
AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!
I am a close friend of the deceased. This young man (in his early 30's) had many family issues, as many of us do. He was estranged from his father and mother from the time he was a child. He has a beautiful 6 year old daughter he has left behind due to his illness which ended in his suicide. I grieve for her, but I also grieve for all of you. I love life and I love mankind. Let us not forget the meaning of this holiday and how Jesus came into this world to save us from our sins. We are all human. Let us remember the beauty in each other and the beauty of birth and mankind. Let us remember to treat our neighbors as you would have them treat you. Let us not forget it could be us or your brother or your father on the tracks who just could not take it anymore. Please people---enjoy your life, this young man did not enjoy his. Use this as an example to stop fussing and moaning over the small stuff-or the things we take for granted. Getting home 30 minutes late is small stuff. Having cancer is major stuff. Spending $20 for a cab ride is small stuff. Spending night after night out on the streets in this cold weather is major stuff. Death is major stuff. Life is major stuff. His beautiful 6 year old daughter has learned not to take life for granted -the hard way-during the holiday season.
And I agree-suicide can be a very selfish and self-centered act. It is something that should not be done at all-in my opinion. It is though a cry for help at times-or a cry because life is all too much for the person. Anyhow, the only people left crying are those left behind-like my best friend who had the beautiful 6 year old girl with this man.
Maureen, my heart goes out to your best friend, her child, and their families.
I have not read all the replies to this, but the very first of them really disturbed me. I was on that train, and I have been searching since Wednesday to find out what happened. I finally find this website that tells me what happened and I read all these people complaining about be delayed and inconvenienced. It’s sick. I was delayed too, and even before I found out it was suicide my concern was for the poor person who died. Why he did is irrelevant, and a tragedy. And for those who feel it is human nature to be more concerned with getting home in a prompted manner need to take a real hard look at themselves because something is right with you.
I just read the rest of the post, my heart goes out to Maureen and the man's child. I can't say how sorry I am that this happened, and that you had to read all the negative comments about his death. I don't know if you will come back to this site and see this response, but I hope you do.
Fulmer