Man Dead After Being Shoved Onto Subway Tracks, And Killed by Train
A man is dead after being shoved onto the New York subway tracks and struck by a train after an argument, while another man photographed the incident. INSIDE EDITION reports.
It's the breathtaking photo making front-page news, and causing a furor.
A New York City subway passenger who was pushed onto the tracks tried desperately to get out of the path of an oncoming train. But as one headline screams, he was "Doomed."
Now, the Today show's Al Roker and many others are expressing disbelief.
Roker said, "Somebody's taking that picture. Why aren't they helping this guy up?"
The nightmare began when the victim got into an argument with another passenger. The dispute was actually caught on camera.
The other passenger said to the victim, "Leave me the (blank) alone." "Take your (blank) over there, stand in line, wait for an R train, that's it."
It's unclear what started the argument. One published report says the victim had been drinking. Other reports say the second man was panhandling and had been cursing and harassing people waiting on the platform. Whatever triggered the dispute, it ended in a terrible tragedy.
Cops say the next moment, the victim was shoved onto the tracks.
One witness told INSIDE EDITION, "Everyone was screaming. Everyone was freaked out. They were running toward the booth saying, 'Stop the train!' "
Father of one, Ki-Suck Han, died in the nightmare incident.
Freelance photographer Umar Abbasi shot an incredible photo showing the victim sitting dazed on the tracks. A light at the top left of the photo was the light of a train hurtling towards him. Abbasi also got a chilling photo of the victim trying in vain to haul himself to safety on the platform. The oncoming train was just feet away from the victim.
But Abassi told INSIDE EDITION's Megan Alexander he was actually using the camera flash to alert the subway conductor.
Al Roker wasn't buying it, saying, "If somebody is on the tracks, that's not going to help. You try to get them off the tracks."
Savannah Guthrie said, "It's hard to make a judgement about what someone does at a panicked moment like this."
But the photographer is adamant he did all he could.
Alexander asked Abbasi, "What about the people who feel you should have dropped the camera and helped the guy?"
"I was so far away on the platform, there was no way I could have reached him," said Abbasi.