The night of incident (Photo: QueensPost)
Dec. 27, 2012 By Bill Parry and Christian Murray
A man was killed Thursday night after being pushed in front of a No. 7 train at the 40th Street subway station, according to the police.
The man was standing on the platform at about 8pm and was pushed onto the tracks where he was struck by a Queens-bound train. The man has yet to be identified as his mangled body remained on the tracks as of 11:30pm.
“I heard the train screech as it was stopping and then heard this loud scream,” said Linda Santini-Tripodis, the owner of Merit Group & Associates, who was beneath the 40th Street station at the time.
“I’m never going to forget that scream for as long as I live,” Santini-Tripodis said.
The perpetrator is believed to be a female Hispanic in her 20’s, according to the NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne. She was seen pacing and mumbling by witnesses prior to the incident, Brown said. She sat on a bench by herself and waited for the 7 train to enter the station.
“The woman then jumped up and shoved a man into the path of the oncoming subway train,” Browne said, adding that “the victim did not notice her.”
Investigators do not believe the man knew his attacker.
The woman was wearing a grey, blue and white ski jacket with Nike sneakers, grey on the top with red soles, according to the police.
The Deputy Commissioner said described the perpetrator as 5’5” and heavyset with blonde or brown hair. She fled out of the station onto Queens Blvd and the police are trying to track her down.
The police said that there were no cameras on the platform, but that they would be reviewing surveillance cameras from nearby stores.
The deceased was trapped under the front of the train’s second car. “The body is severely damaged so providing a description is impossible,” Browne said.
The police were unaware of any disturbances in stores or restaurants on Queens Blvd. prior to the incident.
The number 7 train service was closed between Court Sq & 61st-Woodside Ave last night as the police investigated the scene.
This incident comes less than a month after another man was killed when he was shoved into the path of a Q train at 49th Street.
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56 Comments
Sunnyside is filled with nutters. I’ve said it and will continue to say it. This has nothing to do with homelessness. This criminally insane woman obviously has relatives or somewhere to rUN to.
@Robert: I work with homeless people on a regular basis as a volunteer and they are usually decent people who appreciate the food we distribute to them as they have few alternatives. Yes, at times some of them are rude, smelly, intoxicated, or unappreciative and yes this is off-putting. And yes many of them have severe personal problems including addiction, mental illness, financial hardship, familial dysfunction, abuse, etc which contribute to their homelessness. But this doesn’t automatically make them “suicidal” or “terrorist.” Furthermore there is no indication at this time that the perpetrator is homeless. Be careful what you post folks. This is a horrible tragedy and we are understandably looking for answers but scapegoating and stereotyping won’t bring this man back.
Just read that the 108th knows who the perpetrator is and is looking for her in shelters and mental health clinics (where she should have been instead of on a platform).
MTA complains it would cost too much to do anything with the platforms. Government doesn’t care about us, they care about the oil and war in middle east. One guy got pushed, who cares, there is someone stoning someone else in the middle of nowhere. It would not cost a billion dollars to fix our subway system, but they rather pay a billion dollar to fight a war that was not ours to begin with.. Don’t get me started on gov expenses, and MTA has the nerve to ask for more money from riders for the crappy service they provide. Just go to Japan, Europe and some of the other more advanced transit systems. They could do the gates at air-train, why not at subway? Oh wait, we got unions, it will take them 10 years to bore a simple tunnel that would take China 6 months to drill.
United States has “it has worked, let it work the way it’s been working for 100 years” mentality. It will never change. This is why the major highways known to be accident spots, major intersections and ramps that are easily the most dangerous ones are never fixed. Nobody cares, nobody will. Unless it is an issue that will generate revenue, it will not change.
I agree. There needs to be some discussion on the effects of the many pharmaceuticals people are taking these days. Problems usually have more than one cause or contributing factor. Why is it so unacceptable to some that we look into all the possibilities?
Get over yourself, Ruben…
I am not blaming Big Pharma. I am simply suggesting that, like many here looking for answers, the use of SSRI drugs could be involved. There have been controlled studies on this issue, and results are clear. Nonetheless, I did not suggest we blame Big Pharma or ban all SSRIs because they can cause violence in less than 1% of those using them. I am promoting a discussion about them and encouraging readers to demand that more studies are done on them. Fanapt, the drug spree killer Lanza was rumored to be on, has had only ONE 4-week study conducted on it.
Generation Rx – A Prescription for Violence (documentary)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1355568/plotsummary
@ Rothbard
“Private industry wouldn’t allow this nonsense to happen, for fear of losing shareholder value in lawsuits, reputation, lost business, boycotts, etc.”
This is the single most illogical sentence ever written. It’s not just incorrect, but hilariously naive.
Enjoying the comments here.
Here’s a radical solution: Privatize the MTA (like it was originally)! Get it the hell out of the government’s hands. Private industry wouldn’t allow this nonsense to happen, for fear of losing shareholder value in lawsuits, reputation, lost business, boycotts, etc.
They also wouldn’t raise fares (like Lohta and his ilk are doing) in order to cover not train maintenance, not line improvements, but rising pension costs for MTA employees! What a joke!
I’m so sorry @local hamburger but Mr. Rispoli was a beloved leader in the gay comunity, he was brutally attacked with no reason. If that is not hate crime you tell me then what it is to be beaten to death, they didn’t stole anything from him. I’m deeply sorry with everybody but our neighborhood safety is decreasing quite rapidly
If a crime like this happens once, it is ten times too many! Find the woman who did this – and fast! I wonder if Jimmy Van B. will hold a press conference about this?
When is the candle light vigil?
Hey Bijan,
screw you, clearly asking people to take personal responsibility to STAY ALIVE goes over your head and is just stupid talk right?
nothing insightful there. Just ask for more cameras and go after big medicine and all your problems will go away.
@Bijan
“Virtually nil” perhaps but not much comfort to the victim in the terrifying last few seconds of his life or to his loved ones.
Your comment sounds like a Bloomberg press release.
To those complaining about Ruben:
The dude’s obviously an idiot who has nothing insightful, helpful or that shows even the slightest hint of intelligence to add. Just ignore him.
Though this is awful, this is still only the 2nd time an incident like this has happened in recent memory (I could be wrong). If someone is going to randomly kill you, there are a lot more ways to do it instead of shoving you in front of a train. The reason this seems so awful and gets so much coverage is precisely because it *doesn’t* happen very often. The fact remains that NYC is one of the safest large cities in America with a homicide rate that has dropped a whopping 83% in the past 20 years (in a nation where the homicide rate has dropped 51%).
It’s difficult to realize when such an awful thing happens to recognize the bigger picture. But the bigger picture is that you that the odds of something like this happening to you are virtually nil.
Let’s see if Jimmy Longjams holds a march to find this killer…
Judging by the video she couldn’t have run far.
There will never be enough cops, cameras or other measures to stop every random attack like this. Th best way to stop them is for each person to know what crazy people are capable of and to stay alert at all times.
We could use the auxiliary police on the subways. The MTA fired a lot of the token booth clerks (although I think there is one at 40th) and that was a big mistake. We need eyes and ears and people to report things. I hope that people go to the next 108th police council meeting and demand answers. I take it that the guys in the photo with the “suits” are the detectives. Does anybody know what happened to Kendra’s Law? That was the law that forced people to be medicated when they had a history of violence and had been prescribed meds to pacify them.
He may not have been standing at the edge of the platform or wrapped up in his smartphone. The platforms aren’t that deep, and an unexpected shove will push you 5 yards, easily. Stop calling the poor dead guy dumb…it’s obvious you are just trying to convince yourself that you are invincible to random acts of violence,
I don’t know if this was the case in this incident but I see so many people on the subway with their headphones in their ears and their eyeballs glued to their electronic devices and have no clue what is happening around them. They are sitting ducks for thieves and psychos.
And I will never understand why people have to stand right at the edge of the platform as the train comes barreling into the station as if they think there won’t be enough time to walk the five or six feet from the back of the platform to the train after it stops.
There will always be violent lunatics out there so at least take basic, common sense precautions to improve the odds in your favor.
We have to start standing up as a neighborhood and take action so Sunnyside can continue to be a “safe, stable, family-oriented, middle and working class neighborhood.” We can’t just let crime continue to keep on stepping in-front of our neighborhood’s doorstep and go on doing things out of the ordinary. We as a community should do something about it and stop crime from entering in our neighborhood and look after each other, respect, love, care, support, and do the right things instead of the things our parents told us not to do at all literally. If not, we will end up just like the other bad neighborhoods here in New York City. It’s better to show and set an excellent and positive example rather than the opposite.
Cameras deter crime when the perpetrator actually cares about their life and what will happen if they are caught. Homeless people, suicidal people (school shootings) and people who have nothing to lose (suicide bombers/terrorists) are almost impossible to stop. Cameras will help but lets look at the people here standing on the platform! A heavy set woman could not be run down by someone. Surely someone witnessed it according to reports this morning with a detailed description of her sneakers, etc. I mean was someone tweeting how cool her sneakers were or what they just witnessed…… do something about it! Everyone in this society wants 15 seconds of fame and 800 virtual friends but if you would have stepped up you would have been a real hero to society. This society really lacks respect and integrity and needs to pay attention to what is happening in front of them and not their phone. By the way, I am not 65 years old or something. I just turned 35, born and raised in Sunnyside but I really miss the old New York community. Don’t depend on the cops, they don’t want to be bothered.
I agree with Robert.
In a recent trip to Japan I saw this on their train lines and wondered why they don’t do this in New York. It helps from being pushed onto the tracks, and it also helps crowd control, especially those people who try to push their way into the trains when people are still coming off.
I think this would be a better investment than putting video camera’s on the trains and buses to just add more big brother.
http://www.dls-eikaiwa.com/ricky/wp-content/uploads//2012/10/sany00401.jpg
Horrible news. I was wondering why the 40th Street station had so many police officers in it this morning. Please stay alert and be safe everyone.
Listen up you pack of hippie Goobers, My comments speak truth. It’s about personal responsibility.
You got one guy asking for cameras. What good are cameras going to do? sure, catch someone but how unrealistic is it to ask for a camera in every corner in every area of the city? most of you heat heads keep supporting the MTA raising prices but don’t demand stations with more security. I stopped taking trains a LONG time ago because they are moving coffins. Good luck getting help when something goes down, unless you’re in one of the big money stations.
You got another guy blaming big pharma like it’s one big Mel Gibson/Dan Brown conspiracy. Careful Circle , next you’ll be saying it was the one armed man!
Then you got those who say “we shouldn’t live in fear of psychos” umm..yes..you should! what world do you think you live in? I see dozens of you Sunnysiders pass that Chaaaange Bum and a few still give him money. You put your trust in the wrong things , you should be trusting your own judgement.
This is about something that could have easily been avoided if these people used COMMON sense. The Asian man who got pushed can be seen arguing with the crazy black guy. Why would you argue with a crazy person? what are you going to win? His lack of common sense cost him his life, This kid who got pushed was a grown man, a young man but a man nonetheless, Who made a mistake who cost him his life, his mistake should be a reminder to everyone who takes the train that yes, you SHOULD be aware of your surroundings at all times and stop living in la la land.
Is there a button to ignore a poster because I just want to ignore certain poster above and most others would well benefit from ignoring him too because the comments he posts make no sense.
There surely is something going on just like how NECC screwed up and gave hundreds of people meningitis. This is not normal, suddenly there are so many crazies walking around, shooting people, shoving and pushing people to their death?
Cameras will not prevent but at least we can see what is going on and be prepared accordingly or make a clear case out of all these. Isn’t there any cameras on the station? Really? Or were they just not working? Wasn’t there anyone at all at the station to follow this woman and keep reporting, are we that scared to do anything now?
@john
I enjoy reading ruben’s “non-thoughts”. He speaks the truth.
We need cameras everywhere !
That’s the usual response. Cameras do not solve or deter crime.
Good ol police work and neighborhood information is what works.
camera will not prevent a lunatic from doing crazy stuffs, but it will discourage not-so-lunatic people from committing a crime.
ruben, you seem to be in a good mood when expressing your thoughts (or lack thereof).
@Sara
Hunter’s Point is far more expensive and don’t spread unfounded assumptions that the previous homicide was a hate crime.
Ruben, not sure if you are just trolling or not, but can you honestly say that you have NEVER waited for a train near the edge or looked down to see if it was approaching? You seriously are that paranoid that you stand w your back against the wall every time? If so, then good for you, but you should at least have some respect in how you present your comments, and if not, you should consider that it could have been anyone who rides the 7 train, including you (assuming you do ride the subway).
Finally, nobody argued that cameras would prevent this. However, don’t you think cameras providing a clear image could help catch this person and prevent them from hurting or killing anyone else?
Thoughts and prayers with the victim’s family. It has been a rough few months for Sunnyside.
Do you know for sure that the victim was near the tracks?
Stupid people everywhere!!!!
Please if you see somebody crazy , screaming crazy stuff , be smart enough to take a pic and take it to the precinct. PLEASE, help you protect yourself and help us protect our neighborhood.
Ok , everybody got very aggressive. The point is not blaming the victim for being stupid enough to step close to the train. The victim was in the 20’s , a KID ! Basically. We can’t leave in fear of psychos around the neighborhood, sunnyside is the most expensive neighborhood in queens to be dealing with this craziness. I moved here for safety, lately I’ve been thinking if it was worth it. The unsolved hate homicide, now a train pusher, a rapist…. What is going on !!!! This is a family neighborhood, and at least I have children to protect, it makes me really scared.
Why can’t we put rails to prevent people from falling?
Terrible story. Can the 108th solve this crime or will they botch this one also? If you see something, say something should be changed to, GET THE BLANK OUT OF THE WAY if you see something because you really might get killed. The perpetrator sounds demented. I wonder if she lives in the Mets Houses as she was heading towards 47th Avenue.
@Skooh
By religious stores do you mean those Christian voodoo supplies shops?
Over the last few weeks i notice a few Hispanic women on different occasions, rambling about “Diablo coming to get them”. It’s as if they are convinced by someone they are in danger from Satan. I was on the 46st station and went the other way while one of them said it loud and clear. I also had a woman sit behind me on the Q37 bus. I turned sideways to keep an eye on her movements. They should monitor the Hispanic churches and religious stores.
Great posts CircleK, thanks for the read!
something needs to be done to prevent tragedies like this from occurring again, but i doubt anything will be done.
How about small ladders every few feet or so that could give someone a fighting chance to get back on the platform. What a horrific incident.
Article here (list of tragedies in 3rd paragraph), or simply wiki “school shootings” and there is a whole chart now (since Sandy Hook) that draws this same similarity. I know this was no school shooting, but pay attention and follow up…be because you’d be surprised how many people commit such crimes while under the influence of SSRIs…
http://c.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/politics-blue-collar/2012/dec/17/columbine-newtown-virginia-tech-aurora-strong-case/
Get familiar with the term “homicidal akathisia”, which refers to (the latter word) severe agitation or restlessness accompanied by loss of impulse control. This is a term Big Pharma fears you will learn and use in your everyday vocabulary when talking about their drugs. Consider that depression and other psychiatric disorders rarely resulted in violence until the advent of SSRIs, which are the widely prescribed antidepressants known to cause reactions “that can result in suicidality, violence, and other forms of extreme abnormal behavior” (Int’l Journal of Risk & Safety in Medicine 16). Consider that Big Pharma has settled thousands of lawsuits out of court and hush these stories by obtaining court orders to seal documents produced in litigation (not unlike the portrayal of Big Tobacco in Michael Mann’s The Insider). Consider that at least fourteen recent school shootings were committed by those taking psychiatric drugs or withdrawing from them, which is known as “discontinuation syndrome”. Now, when reading the article below, be sure to click on “list of tragedies” hyperlinked in the 3rd paragraph. You will be sent to a website that documents literally hundreds of horrific crimes involving SSRIs (the link is pre-sorted by “school” incidents). Once you’re done, ask yourself if the pharmaceutical industry is telling us the truth, or are they simply profiting at the cost of violence in our communities?
Just this morning as I rode the 7 into Manhattan I reminded myself not to stand near the edge of the platform for this very reason. Ever since the incident last month, I have been extra cautious and paying attention to who is standing near me. I tried to get on the 7 train at Times Square this evening a little after 8, but a MTA employee told everyone the 7 train was not running between Times Sq and Queensborough Plaza due to a police investigation, and that we should take the N to QB Plaza to switch to the 7. I waited for the N at Times Sq and again felt paranoid about those around me, since I associate the term “police investigation” with a death or injury on the tracks. I purposely stood against the wall. The 7 was of course not running once I reached QB Plaza and I had to walk. I saw all of the police vehicles and news cameras and I just knew someone had been pushed. The cameras wouldn’t show up for a jumper. It is so sad that we are in danger of our fellow human beings to do something so horrific to an unsuspecting, innocent person. It sounds like the poor victim was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Ruben’s comments are disgusting, and said as if he were always on his guard 100% of the time. Well let me tell you, Ruben, in a city of 8 million, you can’t be on guard 100% of the time and sometimes you just have to trust that the people around you are not criminals intent on killing you. What happened to this man could have happened to you.
Stay alert at all times whether taking the subway,bus or just walking the streets. Headphones are going to b the death of a lot of people. U must pay attention to what s going on around u. B safe everyone .
This is sad. I feel terrible for the victim. We’re now going to have to re-think the way we commute. No ipods, iphones, etc and standing far away from the subway tracks. After the incident in Manhattan earlier this month, I’ve also thought there’s nothing to stop a crazy person from throwing someone from the platforms in Queens along the 7 onto the street.
This is sad. I feel terrible for the victim. We’re now going to have to re-think the way we commute. No ipods, iphones, etc and standing far away from the subway tracks. After the incident in Manhattan earlier this month, I’ve also thought there’s nothing to stop a crazy person from throwing someone from the platforms in Queens long the 7 onto the street.
Lethal Injection for the bitch
What the hell are cameras going to do? What people need is more common SENSE. you see a train coming , something that can surely kill you in a brutal way…then you stand BACK. you stand against the wall so if someone wants to push you in the track they would have to pull you in kicking and screaming.
The description of the hispanic woman describes a million people. So sad.
Hey Idiots! stop standing so close to the platform edge !
it makes me sick , we need cameras , I don’t know why the 7 train is so neglected by the MTA
this is not normal , its happening every month now .
This sooo sad everybody is not thinking twice anymore before they push somebody to the train tracks … May that guy’s soul rest in peace with god now!
Paul — they gonna take our arms away… Kidding asside I feel bad for the guy who got pushed, & the cops catch the pusher bitch. Probably a LOT more to this story
What next? Armed Cops at every station?!?