Yesterday's 4 Subway Station Deaths: 3 Killed By Trains, 1 Found Dead On Staircase

Photograph of the tracks at the 42nd Street station by Gary Burke on Flickr

While we mentioned two subway-related fatalities yesterday, it turns out two other men also died in the subway system—one of them was apparently crushed to death at the Sixth Avenue L station.

At 2 a.m., the Daily News reports, "a man in his 60s was found unconscious at the bottom of a staircase at the Elmhurst Ave. R line station. The man was bleeding from the mouth, said a police source." The man died at Elmhurst Hospital center, and police "believe the victim slipped and tumbled down the steps, striking his head, said a police source. It does not appear he was the victim of a crime, according to the source."

Around 8:25 a.m., a man was struck by an L train while standing on the tracks between Third Avenue and Union Square. He was identified as Brian Omara of Garden City; it's unclear why he was on the tracks.

At 4 p.m., a man was struck by a southbound A train at the Nostrand station. According to the Post, "A friend at the station said the man worked at the station selling Metrocard swipes and that his body was discovered by a train conductor. There were no witnesses and it is unknown whether there is any criminality, cops said."

At 10:10 p.m., a man was killed when he was pinned between an L train and the station platform at the Sixth Avenue station. A Redditor wrote, "I just saw a man get run over by the L train. It was... awful. Blood and intestines covering the platform. I don't know if he jumped or fell. An EMT that came over said that this happens on average twice a week." And another Redditor replied:

EMT with the FDNY here. It happens all the time - especially in Manhattan. There's your classic hit and splatter, which sounds like what happened here. Then there's your "space case" which is where they get wedged in between the subway car and the platform. Usually it's because they dropped something on the tracks, jumped down, and didn't realize how high the platform actually is. So they try to get up on the platform, and they can't, and the train winds up coming and depending on how big the space is will either cut them in half or wedge them between the car and platform. Then, you have your "screw driver" which is the same as the space case, except the top half of the body stays in the same direction, and the waist/legs twist around and around as the subway car pulls the body down the side of the platform. This is actually a scenario that is practiced jointly between EMS and Fire at the academy - they have a fake subway track at the FDNY Academy on Randall's Island that they mimic this with.

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By Jen Chung in News on January 22, 2012 11:40 AM

Comments [rss]

Lara Hannah

And yesterday morning a dead man was found sitting in the Q train at Beverly Road. He seemed to be in his fifties and his weight was keeping him upright in his seat..

sunstroked

This is why modern subway systems, like in Seoul, have enclosed subways that open only once the train has come to a stop (like the airtrain).

dogbertt

Seoul's wasn't like that until recently and beside, all of Seoul's system dates to no later than the 70s and most of it was built much later than that.

NYC's was built at the turn of the last century, so naturally it would cost much, much more to retrofit it to Seoul's standards.

Having lived and ridden the subways daily in both cities, obviously Seoul's is much cleaner and more efficient, but its also much newer and better staffed.

sunstroked

Yeah, that's why I used the word "modern" in my description of the Seoul subway system.

Esteban Francisco

Daaaaamn :( Stand behind the platform and do not use you're gadgets people.

aktobk

I've dropped my phone before on the tracks. The guy waiting next to me gave me a grave "don't do it maaaaan" look. So I patiently waited for the next train to arrive. After it left I hopped down, grabbed my pieces of phone, and hopped back up. I survived and lived to tell this harrowing tale because I wasn't hammered when this happened. And I'm actually capable of lifting my own body weight. Enough about me being awesome though. Sucks for those dead people.

I find it helps to be alert when you ride the subways, not just for yourself. But for other passengers as well. I saw a drunk with headphones on dangling his feet off the edge of the platform at the Lorimer stop. Either not caring or not noticing the oncoming/limb mangling train. A few other people noticed an a couple of us hollored an drug his dumb ass away from the platform.

Long story short, if you see someone way too drunk, or sick (usually drunk) to be trusted to wait for a moving train to stop before stepping on to board. Notify a MTA employee or simply help them out yerself. You might get a slurred mix of "fuck offs" and "thank yous" but you might end up saving a life.

..Cue "more you know" graphic.

Nicolette Beach

If your phone was in pieces, why jump down to get if in the first place? I love my iPhone but it's going to stay down there if I drop it.

aktobk

when it hit the ground the back of the case an the battery popped off. totally fixable. i didn't love that phone but i can't afford to replace electronics willy nilly.

Rocknrope

Personally, I think those descriptions could make a very effective advertising campaign for the MTA, certainly better than the typical "Watch Out" namby-pamby ads. Someone with some graphic design skills get on that, please.

IvoryJive

It's time the MTA announce a plan to wall off tracks from platforms with glass like some other subway systems. Even if it takes 50 years, they need a plan to stop these dozens and dozens of accidents each year.

Knightmare6

Too expensive... it was bouncing around last year in the Council and what-not.

diablofreak

darwin effect

snactres

Ugh I just moved here and this makes me feel WAY better. These things happen, and that's just the risk we all have to take, I guess.

MattyGC

this story makes you feel way better?

snactres

I was being way, way, way...sarcastic.

callmeL

I think that trains that enter the station should move slowly to prevent these accidents, especially at the stations with a narrow platform, and moving trains on both sides. I bet half these old subway station platforms wouldn't pass a safety test nowadays because they are just too narrow to handle the volume of people on foot, strollers, shopping bags, walkers, wheelchairs, fatties, skinnies, preggers, children, highschoolers and puffy coats.

It's too bad about these subway deaths, RIP, and be safe on the train everyone!

Sharone Tobias

Oh damn. I'm that Redditor that was quoted (OP, not the EMT). What a way to get in Gothamist, huh? I took the subway this morning and just got this sinking feeling in my stomach, seeing the scene happen over and over again.

e non

there's a law & order (iirc) episode of a guy who gets caught between the train and the platform (that screwdriver); and he's conscious for a long period -- until the train moves out and his body is released. it was one of the most memorable and horrifying things i've ever seen. vincent d'onofrio was the victim.

Mike Gargiullo

That happens a lot when someones pelvis is crushed between two objects. When the pelvis gets crushed, the large arteries can shred, but the object pinning the person occludes them preventing them from bleeding out. When the object is removed... they tend to bleed out rather quickly.