Veteran, 83, fighting for his life after suspect pushes him, another man onto subway tracks

1 hour ago

WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News Staff,

NEW YORK (WCBS) – Police in New York City have a person of interest in custody after two men were pushed onto the subway tracks. One of the victims, an 83-year-old veteran, was injured so badly he is on life support.

Two strangers were waiting on a subway platform just before noon Sunday when out of nowhere, the New York Police Department says a man shoved them both onto the train tracks.

One of the victims, 30-year-old Jhon Rodriguez, spoke out the day after the incident. With his arm in a sling, he says he’s in a lot of pain and can’t work due to his injuries. He says he was pushed before the other victim, 83-year-old Richard Williams.

“I felt really scared. I was trembling. I felt disoriented,” said Rodriguez in Spanish. “I saw him [Williams] fall on his head, and I saw him bleeding.”

Rodriguez and other riders quickly sprang into action to help get the unconscious Williams, a U.S. Air Force veteran and cancer survivor, off the tracks before the next train arrived.

Richard Williams, an 83-year-old Air Force veteran, is on life support after he and another man were pushed onto the subway tracks in New York City.(Source: Samantha Loria, WCBS via CNN)

Family members say Williams has bleeding on his brain and is fighting for his life. As of Monday, he was in the intensive care unit, according to his granddaughter, Samantha Loria.

“My grandpa sadly [suffered] multiple fractures in his body. His brain, he’s bleeding. They can’t stop the bleeding. He hit his head on the train tracks. Thank God, there wasn’t a train coming,” Loria said.

She says her grandfather takes ultimate pride in the family he built, which includes three daughters and two grandchildren. He also mastered the art of flying high and fighting hard, serving in the Air Force and beating cancer.

“The hardest part is I might not be able to hug him again,” Loria said. “He survived a fire, cancer recently, and all he wanted to do is walk. He loves to walk.”

Rodriguez says he captured video of the suspect who pushed him and Williams onto the tracks, and police released photos of the suspect Monday, asking the public for help identifying him.

Officials said Tuesday morning that a person of interest was in custody. No charges have been filed yet.

The NYPD says there have been nine subway push incidents so far this year, compared to 19 all of last year and a total of 26 in 2024.

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