Man pushes commuter onto New York subway tracks, charged with attempted murder

This New Year’s Eve turned tragic for a 45-year-old New York City subway commuter who is now in critical condition after being pushed onto the tracks while he was waiting for his train at the 18th Street station.

According to the police, the accused, identified as 23-year-old Kamel Hawkins, was arrested and charged with attempted murder and second-degree assault for randomly pushing the commuter without any reason.

The incident on Tuesday afternoon was caught on CCTV and the footage shows the accused casually walking about on the platform, while the commuter waits for his train while looking at his phone.

As the train enters the platform, Hawkins suddenly pushes the man, following which he disappears from the footage.

Firefighters immediately reached the spot and worked to pull out the commuter, who miraculously survived despite being hit by the train.

As the man was being pulled out, a bystander reportedly shouted, “He’s alive”, reports The New York Post. Despite being critical condition, he is said to be stable.

Although Hawkins fled the scene shortly after the incident, he was arrested later in the day.

This is not the first time that the accused has been caught for committing a crime. According to the police, Hawkins was charged with assault in 2019 for attacking a police officer who caught him misbehaving.

The attack left the officer with a back injury.

The New York Post also reported that Hawkins has an open case in Brooklyn on assault, harassment and weapons possession charges for an incident that occurred in October 2024.