A New York man was killed on Tuesday night after being caught in a moving subway train located in Midtown during the evening rush, police said.
According to the New York Post, the incident happened around 7:20 p.m. The 39-year-old Queens resident was at the eastbound No. 7 train platform at Grand Central Terminal.
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Sources say that the man was dragged from the platform to the tracks in the tunnel, causing him to then be pulled into a staircase and his body then thrown on an electrical control box.
The New York Times said the box set off a flash that caught the attention of the train operator, who immediately hit the brakes. Police found the unnamed man unconscious upon arrival and paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.
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When the incident happened, it had yet to be revealed if the victim’s shoulder bag was caught in the doors or another section of the train’s car. Now authorities believe that the bag nor his coat was caught in the doors.
Police are investigating the incident to see if the victim was intoxicated.
Incidents like this rarely happen in New York. However, commuters are urged by MTA personnel to be more cautious about how close they should stand near the edge of the platform, taking heed to the yellow strips with the warning sign: Stand Back.
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Witnesses informed the police that the man was walking on the caution line close to the edge of the platform. The yellow strips are supposed to serve as some sort of enforcement to prevent people from jumping in front of trains and leaning over the edge.
“I’m not standing on that yellow line,” Mark Joseph, 69, said on Wednesday standing on the exact platform the accident took place at.
“A lot of people don’t listen,” Joseph added. “They walk right up to the edge. I’m scared you can trip or somebody can push you. It’s not worth it. You can die.”
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Behavior experts and passengers alike, note that many ignore the warning strip. People are more so concerned about getting through other passengers and making it on the packed trains.