Straphanger Survives Face-First Fall Onto Subway Tracks
March 27, 2019, 1:15 p.m.
The MTA suspended L train service in both directions on Tuesday night, after a man came thisclose to getting hit.
A man was nearly hit by an L train after falling onto the tracks in Brooklyn.
A straphanger came thisclose to getting run over by an L train during Tuesday's evening rush hour, reportedly falling face-first onto the tracks as a train pulled into the station. Luckily, riders waiting on the platform got the operator's attention, and the train stopped just in time.
The fall reportedly occurred at about 6 p.m. at Grand Street in Williamsburg, prompting the MTA to put a stop on all L trains running between Myrtle-Wyckoff and Manhattan just before 6:15 p.m. At that point, they announced (at 14th Street and 6th Avenue, at least) that someone had been hit, and a few minutes later, that someone had been injured. Service was restored at 6:40 p.m., only to be waylaid again at 7:20, due to a train experiencing mechanical problems at Graham Avenue.
There is no L train service in either direction between 8 Av and Myrtle-Wyckoff Avs. See a station agent to receive a courtesy pass for continuing train or bus service. See our website for station-specific alternatives: https://t.co/VgeeZyVFPY
— NYCT Subway (@NYCTSubway) March 26, 2019
We have asked the MTA for information as to what caused the man to fall and will update if we hear back, but he is reportedly in stable condition at Elmhurst Hospital. His tumble, however, understandably gave his fellow commuters quite a fright. Witness Charles Eaton told the NY Post that a big crowd rushed over and "tried to help him off the tracks," but they "couldn't reach him" in time. Still, they began waving at the oncoming train as it zoomed toward the man on the tracks, getting the operator to throw on the brakes at the last minute.
"It came within inches of hitting him. Inches," Eaton told the Post. "It was a miracle. If we hadn't have stopped this train it would have squished him."
