Passengers in the train watch as emergency workers attend to the man. Photos by Ryan.
A 23-year-old man died after jumping onto the train tracks just as a Northbound 1 train was entering the 66th Street station around 11:30 p.m. on Monday, according to police and the MTA. The man was taken to Roosevelt Hospital in critical condition and pronounced dead after midnight, according to the NYPD. Multiple witnesses saw the man jump in front of the train, an NYPD spokesman said.
Ryan, one of the passengers on the train, told us what he saw and heard:
“Two MTA folks in the car started saying, ‘It’s a jumper,’ and within seconds, we heard the sirens, saw the EMT, Fire and Police. I would say it took about 15 minutes for police to open one of the doors so we could get out.”
Trains were rerouted onto the express tracks from Times Square to 72nd Street, and normal service resumed around 1 a.m., according to the MTA.
The scene afterwards in the station.
Emergency vehicles outside the station.
If you are thinking about harming yourself or attempting suicide please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
A permanent solution to a temporary problem.
I am very sad about this.
Just what he needed! An empty cliché! Let’s go put some cheap flowers in the subway station too! Pile them high, with candles, photos, and Hallmark cards!
I daresay that anyone who pips that permanent/temporary line has never dealt with chronic, long-term, intractable depression. Sometimes, often even, the ‘problem’ is not temporary.
I agree, however, that it is sad that he was moved to deal with his depression in such a violent way, and was unable to find the help he needed. Much sympathy to his family and friends, and to the people who witnessed his death.
very sad and so young.
let’s give some “props” not only to the first responders, but to our Transit Workers, who have to deal with these sorts of calamities every day. the problems on the subway system are not their fault.
We could build walls along our subway and railroad station platforms with sliding doors located where the doors to the passenger cars are located. It would go a long way to keeping users safer and stop such terrible sadnesses from happening. (First suggested September 15, 2015 and again on April 30, 2017) We could do one station a month. In few years we would be a lot less likely to have people committing suicide by subway train or others being pushed and others accidentally falling on to the tracks. What is it going to take please to get this done?
We should indeed have gates on our subway platforms as the subway systems of many cities do. The primary reason would be to prevent people from falling, being thrown or jumping onto the tracks. Reducing noise and allowing for climate control could be additional benefits.
Last August, Red Raleigh wrote,
Paul G added:
The story that the above comments were posted-to was CONFIRMED: THE 86TH STREET SUBWAY STATION IS EAR-SPLITTINGLY LOUD
I have mentioned the need for platform gates repeatedly now.
As for the cost, how much was spent on wiring every station for WiFi? How much is spent on the executives of the MTA– in salaries as well as bonuses and Johnny Dollar-type expense account items? How much taxpayer money is spent on subsidizing art (or “art”, as the case may be…) and any number of other less critical expenses?
Before tackling a project as massive as platform gates, however, we might want to start with those shockingly wide gaps between the platforms and the cars.