NYC Subway Death: Teenage Girl Killed By Oncoming Train After Retrieving Phone On Tracks

A subway train fatally struck a teenage girl as she was climbing back onto the platform after retrieving her cell phone that dropped on the tracks in New York City on Sunday, police said. Deena Kadribasic, 13, was standing on the southbound R train platform at the 63rd Drive-Rego Park station—a few blocks away from her house in the borough of Queens— when her cell phone slipped away from her.

As she climbed back onto the platform from the track bed once she was able to retrieve her phone, an oncoming train struck her at about 3:50 p.m., according to the New York Daily News. Police said the subway’s operator couldn’t stop the train in time to prevent the incident. Still, it remained unclear if the emergency brakes were applied. After the collision, train goers tried to save the girl but were unsuccessful.

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"People were trying to push the train, and everybody on the train moved to the side so we could push the weight of the train to the side," commuter Stephan Topete told ABC7. "We thought the person was actually trapped in between the train," he said

Twitter users posted videos of fire trucks and ambulances arriving at the scene after the fatal incident. Paramedics took Kadribasic to Elmhurst Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, police said.

"A lot of them were crying on the platform," Topete said. "I think two of them were even throwing up."

Shortly after Sunday’s incident, Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) officials urged straphangers to speak to subway staff if they drop anything on the tracks rather than trying to retrieve it themselves.

"Just looking at how far down it is, it doesn't make sense. I know you drop your phone, you want your phone back, but that's a long way down. It's almost four feet," passenger Bernard Malick told ABC7.

Forty-eight people were fatally struck by subway trains in 2016, according to the MTA.

"Just about any risk is worth taking," Jim Gannon, spokesman for the Transit Workers Union told the Associated Press last year, adding, "if you get hit by a train, your chances of survival are not good."