Woman Killed By 6 Train Was Retrieving Dropped Bag

Photograph by Jim in Times Square

Yesterday afternoon, a woman was fatally struck by a northbound 6 train at the 77th Street and Lexington Avenue station in Manhattan. Police now say that 48-year-old Rose Mary Mankos had jumped into the tracks to pick up her fallen bag. Witnesses were yelling at her to lie on on the track bed, but, the NY Times reports, "Panicked, the woman scrambled toward the platform and struggled to climb up, but was crushed as the train came charging into the station."

One witness told the Daily News, "She tried to climb underneath the platform and then she tried to climb up. I was yelling, 'Get down on the tracks, get down on the tracks!' but she just stood there." Another witness thought Mankos seemed "too scared" to climb up. According to the Daily News, "At the last instant, Mankos tried to press herself against the platform wall so the train would pass by her - but instead it crushed her between the first car and the wall."

The train's motorman had sounded his horn repeatedly—and also engaged the emergency brake. A passenger aboard the train, Glena Farr, said to the Times, "We felt a horrible thud. It was horrible. I’ve never felt anything like it, that terrible boom." The Post says, "It was chaos on the platform as straphangers shrieked with horror upon seeing the shredded parts of her body."

The police are investigating but do not suspect any criminality—they believe Mankos was simply trying to get her bag, which, the News reports, "contained toiletries and gym wear, but nothing of significant value." Further, NYC Transit spokesman Paul Fleuranges has this reminder: "The message to our customers is clear: If you drop something on the tracks, do not attempt to retrieve it. Alert a transit employee or a police officer who will notify the Control Center, who in turn will send a crew to retrieve it."

Last December, a man was killed by a subway car while trying to pick up his MP3 player from the subway tracks at the Central Park West and 110th Street station and, in 2004, a woman was fatally struck by a train while trying to pick up her cellphone at the Grand Avenue station.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on March 12, 2010 9:28 AM

Comments [rss]

wowhowstupid

Frankly, I don't c are how awful and insensitive this may sound; I know you are thinking this so I may as well say it, and I would expect this to be said about me if I were to be this effing stupid:

How dumb can a person be? Honestly Rosemary Mankof, if you made the decision to jump after a bag that wasn't prada, gucci, LV, vivienne westwood, etc and that didn't at least have your credit cards, or anything important then I'm happy. Honestly, I am. One less idiot in this world. Roll in your grave all you want but you got what you deserved. You voluntarily jumped ONTO the tracks to get a back that had deodorant and a towel inside a bag that was $20 (at best) from Target. What the heck was this moron thinking?

This incident is anything BUT sad. It makes me so angry to know that this person was an American. It is pretty clear to me that we Americans still need common sense. I read somewhere that many NYers are always retrieving something from the tracks, but one man had jumped in because a child was on the tracks. Because that man was A) smart and B) doing it for a GOOD REASON, he laid himself down between the tracks and saved not only the idiot kids life but his own as well.

After all of these years of watching people get crushed by trains to pick up something so stupid that is replaceable, HAVEN'T YOU IDIOTS STOPPED TO THINK FOR A SECOND? "OMG MY PHONE FELL ON THE TRACKS! I need to get that phone! I have all my contacts and important dates on there!!! You know what... I know I can get all that information back... I can hear the train anyways and I KNOW it's faster than I can get out."

THATS THINKING ROSEMARY! Not what you did! Now you have a grieving family that is sitting there wondering how stupid could you possibly be? Apparently, your dumbest mistake was this; and no thanks to you, the termination of your life was the cost; not to mention time spent cleaning up your left overs, taking time away from the transit people, professionals that needed to find alternative transportation, investigators, ME's.... all these people (and more) wasted money because of your one single stupid decision.

If this would have happened somewhere else, such as the UK, I would think "OMG wow that poor woman/man." However, given the "special" circumstances, it, OF COURSE, happened in America. So now I am thinking "OMG wow, you idiots still have not learned from the other thousands of morons trying to get their lipgloss or phone!" If it's a child... fine jump in... if it is your dog... by all means, I understand completely. If it is your bag without a great brand name that has dirty ugly target towels, LEAVE IT ALONE! Just watch it get destroyed, that is a lot more interesting to watch anyway and less expensive on the city and other people.

I know you all hate me for saying this, but like I said, I also know most of you are thinking it. I just say it.

Amanda Harletsch

sad.

RIP.

NannyState

God how terrible.

nyorker555

There is nothing in my bookbag that I would jump on the subway track for. Astonishing.

wowhowstupid

RIGHT!?!?!?!?!?!? This lady was... lack for a better word... mind numbingly stupid

bagelman

This story is awful. I sometimes worry about bumping shoulders or tripping while walking along the yellow line.

LesDiggityDoo

If you drop something on the tracks, just ask a graffiti writer to retrieve it for ya.. they wander those tunnels more than the MTA.. just don't ask the kid who lost his leg last month, i'm sure he's still recovering.

Think2wice

IMO the argument made by the iPod guy's mom for platform doors makes more and more sense every day.

Rest in peace Rosemary Mankof.

snickerdoodle

The train's motorman had sounded his horn repeatedly—and also engaged the emergency brake. A passenger aboard the train, Glena Farr, said to the Times, "We felt a horrible thud. It was horrible. I’ve never felt anything like it, that terrible boom." The Post says, "It was chaos on the platform as straphangers shrieked with horror upon seeing the shredded parts of her body."

Utterly tasteless. Was it really necessary to include such gory details?

If that woman were your mother or aunt or sister would YOU want this printed in the paper or on a blog?

Grow the F up, Gothamist.

wowhowstupid

Listen here Snickerdoodle.....

why don't YOU just stop reading all together, okay? This dumba$$ woman decided to jump on the tracks very clearly hearing the train and seeing it coming towards her. She didn't even have to. If I were the editor, I would post pictures of whatever wouldn't be blurred out.

another thing.... my family AND friends wouldn't but as retarded as this woman was, to jump ONTO the tracks of a subway/train. See..... I was raised in a family where education was important for a career and intellectual stimulating conversations, being street smart was important for knowing when someone was trying to rip you off, and common sense was important so that you know what NOT to do and WHAT TO DO. This fool had possibly only education, and even that didn't help her case. My point.... it would NEVER happen to the people I associate with.

So these "graphic" details are GOOD. A) it keeps the audience locked into the article, I would know I am a writer and B) she deserves as much embarrassment as can be given.

jaycjay

If you can't take reading gory details about death, it's probably best to skip reading articles with headlines beginning with such words as "Woman killed."

Stick with headlines containing "cute," "bunnies," flowers," stuff like that.

The Edge

Do you like sloppy joe sammiches?

Because word on the street that's what she ended up looking like.

HBHB

Isn't this always the case? People dropped a bag, a cell phone, an ipod. There's nothing I could drop that would make me jump onto the tracks for it. What's wrong with people?

Trilby16

Agreed. If you jump down there to retrieve something, aren't you--at the very least--guaranteed to ruin your clothes? I hate to blame to poor dead lady, but the equation makes no sense at all. Well, people do stupid things in an instant. Sometimes there is no do-over.

Bernie Madoff-Goetz

Darwin bags another. Sadly she may have already procreated.

FDTW

i was trying to get on an uptown 6 at Union when this happened. Total pandemonium: the 6 stopped running so several hundred people tried to climb into the 4/5. Waited for two trains before I could finally get on (why don't those jackasses in the handicapped seats who AREN'T HANDICAPPED don't stand up and give us some damn room), then they constantly blared over the intercom that "due to passenger injury and police investigation, all 6 trains were running express b/w Grand Central and 125th st." At least they kept us in the loop to some degree.

DanielJ

This ain't about you, man.

greeen

she did not pay attention to this

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marvelitsky/4426610365/

Cranky Old Man

A gruesome death for a $50 gym bag. People are getting stupider by the day in this city. Didn't some other guy recently get the same result when he went down for an MP3 player? I still find myself moving well away from the edge when a train is approaching. I remember when people were being pushed onto the tracks by crazy people. I look at everyone around me as well. Nearly everyone else has their earplugs in and are completely oblivious.