A woman was pushed onto the tracks at a midtown Manhattan subway station, and police are on the hunt for the alleged attacker.
The incident occurred around noon Wednesday at the 53rd Street-Fifth Avenue along the E and F lines, according to police. The woman, 30, was shoved onto the tracks below by a man and was left bleeding on the railbed as a result.
Riders who saw the attack helped the woman off the tracks.
She was taken to NY-Presbyterian Hospital and is expected to survive, police said. A spokesperson said the fall caused her to hit her head and suffer a critical injury.
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"As the train was pulling out of the station, she was pushed causing her head to strike the moving train. The train departed the station and then she fell onto the roadbed onto the tracks," NYPD Chief of Transit Michael Kemper said.
It was not clear what led up to the push, but the suspect took off immediately after, running out of the station on street level. Police said he was last seen wearing a white or grey shirt and grey sweatpants.
He was later identified by the NYPD as Sabir Jones, 39, last seen running out of the station. The department shared surveillance images of the man hoping to get public help tracking him down.
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"Crime is 9% down from where it was before COVID. But that's no consolation to the family of this young woman," MTA Chair Janno Lieber said.
Southbound E and F trains were still bypassing the station well into the evening rush hour. The MTA encouraged riders trying to get to the station to transfer at the Lexington Avenue-53rd Street station and grab a northbound train.
An investigation is ongoing.
