A Man Who Was Pushed onto Subway Tracks in NYC Recounts Harrowing Tale of Survival
Joseph Lynskey, 45, was waiting for a train to take him to Brooklyn on December 31 when he was suddenly pushed onto the subway tracks at the 18th Street station in Manhattan. He was able to narrowly escape death when a train approached, but he suffered serious injuries.
“I just thought, ‘I’ve been pushed, and I’m going to die,'” Lynskey told Good Morning America’s Eva Pilgrim. “It happened in a flash when I was midair. I knew that I had been pushed.”
Lynskey’s head and body crashed onto the ground, and he knew he was not out of danger. He immediately realized that he had to stay still to avoid touching the third rail, which is electrified and can be fatal.
“I closed my eyes because then I guess I felt kind of safe that help had arrived,” he said, recalling the moment he heard sirens approaching.
Lynskey was rescued by the Fire Department of New York and taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he spent five days in the intensive care unit recovering from a fractured skull, four broken ribs, and a ruptured spleen.
The suspect in the attack, 23-year-old Kamel Hawkins of Brooklyn, was arrested and charged with attempted murder, assault, and attempted assault. Hawkins has a history of prior arrests and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Lynskey’s experience has taught him a powerful lesson about the fragility of life. “It’s a powerful reminder that this can all be taken away from you at any moment, and you have to keep going. Life is too short,” he said. “And I’m going to keep going.”