MTA WORKER LOSES FOOT IN SUBWAY HIT
An MTA worker’s foot was severed and his other leg “shattered” when he was struck by a train in a subway tunnel in Greenwich Village over the weekend, police and his union said on Monday.
The 26-year-old signal maintainer — who one source said also sustained severe back injuries in the accident — was hit by an in-service Q train on the northbound express track in the vicinity of the Eighth Street-New York University station shortly before 9 p.m. on Sunday, police said.
Demetrius Crichlow, the MTA’s senior vice president for subways, said the worker was part of a crew “exploring a report of a signal failure” at the location.
“Our thoughts and concern go to our colleague,” Crichlow said in a statement. “Stringent safety protocols exist to prevent injuries to transit employees and the Office of System Safety has begun an investigation, which is still in early stages, to determine what happened and recommend any necessary follow up actions.”
‘A major F-up’
The Q train’s operator saw the worker walking with his back to the train moments before the collision, according to an internal report to the transit authority’s Rail Control Center.
The worker, who had been with the MTA for five years, was wearing his reflective vest, but the train was unable to stop before hitting him, police said.
He was taken to Bellevue Hospital, cops said.
“Somebody dropped the ball,” a police source said. “They usually have lights and signal people. That’s a major F-up.”
The worker’s union called the accident a reminder of the risks that MTA crews face every day.
“This tragic accident is under investigation, but it highlights just how dangerous this job can be,” TWU Local 100 Maintenance of Way President John Chiarello said in a statement. “Transit workers are out on the system 24 hours a day, seven days a week, making repairs and inspections to keep NY moving.”
N-, R- and Q-line service through the area went dark for 33 minutes after power was cut at the scene of the accident, the MTA said.
NYC Transit’s Office of System Safety will investigate the cause of the collision.