A homeless man was booked on attempted murder charges Thursday, hours after he allegedly pushed a woman onto the subway tracks at the Union Square station and into the path of an oncoming train.
Adityh Vemulapati, 24, was charged with attempted murder in the second degree as well as assault after pushing a woman onto the subway tracks at the Union Square station early Thursday.
The suspect, who NYPD says is homeless, was held at the station by an MTA employee and the victim was taken to a nearby hospital, law enforcement sources said.
The victim, meanwhile, survived a brush with death — landing on the track bed in such a way that she only suffered minor injuries when an uptown train on the 4/5 line went over her.
Interim New York City Transit President Sarah Feinberg handed credit to the train operator who had decades of experience and likely improved the situation by putting the emergency brakes on ahead of time.
“I find it horrifying. Luckily, thank god, incredibly she only sustained minor injuries which is pretty stunning, to be honest,” Feinberg said. “We’re certainly thankful for our platform controller who happened to be right where this happened and was able to stand over the perpetrator. Because this was in Union Square, there was District Transit Bureau 4 is was here. Police were on the scene in moments… Obviously incredibly disturbing.”
Video footage of the incident was posted to Citizen after it was reported to NYPD at 8:29 a.m. on Nov. 19.
Cops said the victim, 40, was rushed to Bellevue Hospital for treatment. She did not know her attacker.
While the suspect remains in custody, with his identity currently withheld, charges against him are pending the results of the ongoing investigation, according to the NYPD.
“We’ve seen a couple of these incidents over the last few days and we’re really grateful to the NYPD for the quick apprehension of the perpetrator today and the quick apprehension of the perpetrator in the incident that happened yesterday,” Feinberg said. “What we’re seeing in every case is first-hand experience with a mental health crisis in this city.
On Wednesday, a a 36-year-old man was waiting for the downtown B, D train at the 42nd Street—Bryant Park station when he was pushed onto the tracks by a man NYPD said was panhandling. According to the cops, the victim had refused to give the perpetrator money before he was beaten and thrown onto the tracks.
The victim survived with minor injuries while the suspect fled on foot and continues to be pursued by law enforcement.
