A New York City man is lucky to be alive after being shoved onto the subway tracks Saturday morning by an unknown assailant.
German Sabio was standing on the platform at the 149th street station when an assailant pushed him onto the tracks just moments before the train arrived, WABC News reported. Other commuters scrambled to help Sabio and managed to get him back onto the platform just in time to save his life, according to the outlet. The attacker fled the scene.
Video footage shows the long-haired attacker eyeing Sabio before walking up behind him and lunging at him what appears to be an aborted attempt to shove him off the platform, the New York Post reported. Moments later, the attacker returns, though the video doesn’t reveal the actual push that sent Sabio onto the tracks, according to the Post.
Police are searching for a man who pushed a commuter onto the tracks of an oncoming 6 train in the Bronx. As statistics show transit crime is on the rise, straphangers say they’d like to see more safety precautions. @HannahKliger reports. https://t.co/deyxwCnXYI
— CBS New York (@CBSNewYork) October 17, 2022
“He didn’t say nothing to me, I didn’t know him, I think he didn’t know me, because I never saw him in my life,” Sabio said, according to WABC News. “And then he attacked me and pushed me to the train tracks. I went to see if the train was coming, but I never think this guy was coming up behind me.”
Violent crime in New York City increased 25.8% in the past year, with New York’s public transportation system seeing a 57% increase in incidents, according to Fox 5 New York News. (RELATED: NYC Council Member Says Subway Violence Is ‘One-In-A-Million’ Event Despite Alleged Attack Occurring Days Earlier)
Sabio was fortunate to have walked away with minor injuries and bruises, but he expressed concern that future victims might not be so lucky. “These kind of people, they cannot stay in the subway like that. They have to do something with them. Because if it can happen to me, it can happen to a kid or another person, or old lady or man. And you never know when it’s gonna happen to you,” he said, according to WABC.
Police are asking for anyone with information about the suspect to call NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.