New York Subway Worker Falls Onto Track, Dies

A New York City subway worker died early Tuesday morning while clearing trash from the track, the New York Daily News reported. The victim, a 23-year-old man whose name has not been identified, died in a tunnel south of the 125 Street and Lexington Ave station in East Harlem.

The worker’s crew was clearing debris from a track servicing the southbound 6 train, which runs from the Bronx to southern Manhattan. The worker leaned against a rail shortly before 5 a.m., causing the rail to break. He then fell 20 feet down to the 4/5 train track below, according to the New York Post.

He sustained a head injury, after which his coworkers pulled him to the train platform. He died shortly after 5:30 a.m.

New York City Transit Authority president Andy Byford said the worker had worked with the MTA for six months.

“We do appreciate this will be very inconvenient for customers, but on days like this, our main thoughts are with our poor deceased colleague," Byford said in a press conference.

Meanwhile, Transport Workers Union Local 100 president Tony Utano spoke about the tragic death of a fellow transit worker.

“This is a tragedy, not just for this young man and his family, but for the entire city,” Utano said. “While millions of New Yorkers were asleep, this young man was working in a tunnel beneath Manhattan so others could get to work, or school, or wherever else they need to go to in the morning.”

The worker’s death more or less halted the 4, 5 and 6 trains during peak morning commute hours. Riders were frustrated, as they likely did not know the cause of the mass delays on the transit lines.

The MTA worker’s death came mere hours after a 57-year-old man committed suicide by jumping in front of an L train heading west in Manhattan on Monday night. A few dozen people die in New York’s subways each year, whether by suicide, accident or malicious acts.