A man was struck dead by an oncoming train at the 74th Street/Roosevelt Avenue subway station Monday after he fell onto the tracks during a fight with another straphanger (Photos: Citizen)
Oct. 18, 2022 By Michael Dorgan
A man was struck dead by an oncoming train at the 74th Street/Roosevelt Avenue subway station Monday after he fell onto the tracks during a fight with another straphanger.
The victim, Heriberto Quintana, 48, landed on the tracks at around 4:45 p.m. and was then hit by a Jamaica-bound F train that was entering the station, according to the NYPD. Police have yet to determine whether Quintana was pushed or whether he accidentally stumbled onto the tracks during the scuffle.
Quintana, who was from Jamaica Hills, was removed from under the train with severe trauma to the body. He was then transported by EMS to Elmhurst Hospital where he could not be saved.
Police say that Quintana was involved in a physical fight with a 50-year-old man on the northbound F-train platform moments before he was struck.
The fight started after Quintana accidentally bumped into the 50-year-old, the New York Post reported citing cops and police sources.
The 50-year-old’s cell phone then dropped onto the tracks and he yelled at Quintana to retrieve it. Quintana refused and the pair got into a scuffle, which resulted in Quintana falling on the tracks. The New York Post reported that Quintana was pushed, which the NYPD did not confirm.
An MTA worker said the two men had been arguing in Spanish before Quintana landed on the tracks.
“You could hear them yelling on the mezzanine level,” the worker told the Post. “Then I heard screams and ran down to the platform.”
The 50-year-old was taken into custody and the investigation is ongoing, police said.
He had not been charged as of Tuesday morning.
The Medical Examiner will ultimately determine the cause of death.
Should yesterday’s incident be ruled a homicide, it would take the number of murders in the city’s subway system this year to nine.
There were eight homicides in the subway system in all of 2021, a 25-year high.
