NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 05: People wait for the subway at a stop in Brooklyn two days after a man was pushed to his death in front of a train on December 5, 2012 in New York City. The incident was caught by a photographer and has since raised questions as to why someone didn't help the man before the train struck him. The New York City subway system, with 468 stations in operation, is the most extensive public transportation system in the world. It is also one of the world's oldest public transit systems, with the first underground line of the subway opening on October 27, 1904.
On Wednesday, a 30-year-old woman was critically injured when a man casually pushed her into a moving train at the Manhattan Subway Station.
Sabir Jones, the suspect identified by NYPD Transit Chief Michael Kemper, was revealed to have a history of mental illness and remained on the loose late Wednesday.
'Mentally-Ill' Man Critically Injured Woman Who Fell Onto The Tracks
According to the New York Post, Jones was muttering when he suddenly pushed the woman into the train. The police noticed that the woman was going home to Queens from work. The woman hit her head on the leaving downtown F train. Then, she tumbled onto the roadbed at the Fifth Avenue/53rd Street station in the afternoon.
As soon as the woman fell onto the tracks, someone called 911 right away. Kemper reported that there was humanity in the people at the subway and helped her back on the platform.
"I see a lot of blood coming from the head. Isn't easy," vendor Mohamad El-Sherbiny, who saw the injured woman on a stretcher, reported on CBS News.
The police have confirmed that the woman was in a critical condition when she was taken to the New York Presbyterian Hospital. She underwent surgery for head trauma, where a considerable portion of her skull was removed.
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Jones Remains at Large
NYPD Chief of Transit Michael Kaplan said it is still unclear what led to the assault. However, the police are on standby to interview witnesses and the victim. According to the police, he saw Jones allegedly run off the location on foot and flee the turnstiles at West 53rd Street and Fifth Avenue on surveillance footage.
Kaplan said he is known to the police department in the subway system. He also has one previous "emotionally disturbed person" incident.
"When young people, ambitious young people, who are just trying to live their lives are subject to random attacks, we can't put up with it," MTA Chair John Lieber said. NYPD said that fifteen have been pushed onto tracks this year, compared to 22 at the same time last year.
Lieber shared that subway crime is 9% down from before COVID. However, he said that was no consolation to the woman's family. He added that the random attackers need mental health professionals to get in better condition for themselves and, more importantly, for New Yorkers who are just trying to live their lives.
According to Charlton D'souza, president of Passengers United, the mayor has put police in the subway. But New York's problem is they need more highly trained psychologists and social workers to help these poor souls and take them to a hospital to get the treatment they need.
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