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Man Dies After Jumping on Subway Tracks With Daughter, 5, Police Say Man Dies After Jumping on Subway Tracks With Daughter, 5, Police Say
(about 3 hours later)
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A man was killed and his 5-year-old daughter was injured in the Bronx on Monday morning after he apparently jumped in front of a subway train while holding onto the girl, the police said.A man was killed and his 5-year-old daughter was injured in the Bronx on Monday morning after he apparently jumped in front of a subway train while holding onto the girl, the police said.
The man, who was 45 and has not yet been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. The father, who was 45 and has not yet been identified, was struck by a southbound No. 4 train at Kingsbridge Road station shortly before 8 a.m. and was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.
The girl, whose injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, was taken to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx. She was found at the scene with scratches and lacerations, the police said. The girl, who suffered cuts, was taken to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx and was in stable condition, officials said.
Officers believe the man jumped in front of a southbound train at the Kingsbridge Road station on the No. 4 subway line shortly before 8 a.m., a police spokesman said, noting that the investigation was still in the early stages. Video taken by a witness from across the platform shows the girl being pulled out from under the subway car by two men on the tracks.
When asked about reports that the father and daughter had accidentally fallen, a detective said the death was being investigated as a suicide. The girl appears alert as she crawls out from under the train, her pink backpack briefly catching on the rail car before the two men hoist her onto a platform swarmed with commuters.
Two people who had tried to help and had been on the tracks were taken to St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx with minor injuries, the fire department said. One of the men, Antonio Love, 32, said he was walking by the Kingsbridge Road station when he heard people panicking. When he ran up to the train platform, he saw the other man in the video trying to help.
Officials said they did not know what prompted the man to jump. Mr. Love said when he leapt onto the tracks, he saw the girl’s father crushed underneath the train’s wheels. The girl was crying and bleeding from her head.
Subway service had been partially suspended on the No. 4 line while the police were conducting their investigation at the Kingsbridge Road station. But service was beginning to resume around 10 a.m. “The only thing she was saying was ‘Papa, my papa,’” Mr. Love said.
Both men called for the girl, and after she crawled toward them, they helped her onto the train platform.
Mr. Love and the other man were taken to St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx with minor injuries, the Fire Department said.
At the hospital, Mr. Love, whose yellow sweatshirt was stained with some of the girl’s blood, said he was shocked by what he had witnessed.
Mr. Love said he was dismayed, upon reaching the train platform, to see so few people pulling out their phones but not lending a hand.
“It was just panicking,” he said. “Like regular New Yorkers, pulling out their phones. Really? Let’s get down there and help.”
He also said he left his bag on the platform when he leapt down to the tracks, and that it had been stolen.
“Why would somebody do that?” He said. “I’m saving their lives and someone took my bag.”
The train’s operator, who has 20 years of experience on the job, was being treated for trauma and evaluated, transit union representatives said.
Officials said they did not know what may have prompted the man to jump.
“Our thoughts are with the family members as well as with our train operator,” Shams Tarek, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said in a statement. “This is a traumatic event for everyone involved.”
As of July 22, at least 32 people had been killed this year after being struck by a train, according to the transit authority. During that same period, trains had hit 103 individuals either on the tracks or from subway platforms.
Last year, 68 people died in fatalities related to train contact, out of 189 total collisions.
Subway leaders last year said they were contending with a worrying rise in the number of people going onto the tracks, beyond suicides or attempted suicides.
The Kingsbridge stop is an elevated station next to the Kingsbridge Armory in the West Bronx.The Kingsbridge stop is an elevated station next to the Kingsbridge Armory in the West Bronx.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority did not immediately respond to request for comment. Officials have suggested that if riders see someone who appears emotionally distressed, they should press the “emergency” button on a Help Point station or notify a subway worker.
The tragedy on Monday was reminiscent of another in a different Bronx subway station last June, when a woman jumped onto subway tracks with her two-month-old son. In that case, both the mother and her child were physically unharmed. The death on Monday was reminiscent of another episode in a different Bronx subway station last June, when a woman jumped onto subway tracks with her two-month-old son. In that case, both the mother and her child were physically unharmed.
Subway officials suggest that if riders see someone who appears emotionally distressed, they should press the “emergency” button on a Help Point station or notify a subway worker.
If you are having thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK) or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources. Here’s what you can do when a loved one is severely depressed.If you are having thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK) or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources. Here’s what you can do when a loved one is severely depressed.
Alex Traub contributed reporting.