Cry of pity for train bash susp

A MAN accused of punching an innocent straphanger and then watching as a train hit his victim’s head, only to punch him again, is really a “terrific kid,” his lawyer said Monday.

Benjamin Gonzalez, 24, was accompanied by his parents when he made a brief appearance in Manhattan Criminal Court.

His lawyer, Arthur Gershfeld, said he has not yet seen video that allegedly captured the incident.

The carefully coiffed Gonzalez is “one semester shy of graduating college,” Gershfeld said.

Gonzalez, of Queens, and an unidentified second man are accused of viciously attacking Brooklyn artist Francis Michael Christie at the Union Square subway about 2:50 a.m. on Dec. 16.

The Manhattan district attorney doesn’t have a deadline to present Gonzalez’s case to a grand jury because he was freed on a $100,000 bail bond. He was arrested last Wednesday.

Christie’s mother said Sunday that her son, who is still at Bellevue Hospital, is making a slow recovery. Gonzalez is due back in court Feb. 21.