A teenage boy was struck and killed by a 2 train tonight around 6:30 p.m., police and emergency officials said.
The boy was hit while crossing the tracks at 79th street, ABC News reported, a detail that police couldn’t confirm to us. According to ABC News:
“Police say the teenager was with his friends standing on one of the subway platforms when he told his friends he was going to cross the tracks.
The kid tried and was struck by the train. His friends did not jump onto the tracks with him.”
Update: The boy has been identified as Liam Armstrong of Long Island. More on him here.
“So Tuesday night’s subway death involved a group of teenagers who realized they were on the wrong side at 79th and tried to cross the tracks,” reported Second Avenue Sagas, a website devoted to news and analysis of the subway.
Upper West Sider Howard Freeman was on the 1 train and was discharged after it rolled into the 79th street station: “They discharged our train. Train driver said at one point to conductor, ‘we got a man under.’ But no confirmation.”
@libbyashley We had a young man killed while on the tracks at 79th St tonight.
— NYCT Subway Service (@NYCTSubwayScoop) March 27, 2013
“No criminality is suspected,” an NYPD detective told us.
All 1, 2 and 3 trains were suspended for over an hour.
(Our initial report: We received the following message from a source close to NYPD at 710 pm: “About 15 to 20 minutes ago someone was hit by a n/b 1 train at 79@ B’way. Believed to be DOS. PD has ordered a Level 1 mobilization for the incident re crowed control, transit asking for additional MOS from 20 precinct No 1 2 3 service between 42 and 96 n/b and s/b until further notice.”)
