A NYC Transit signal worker lost a foot and shattered his other leg after he was struck by a subway train while working on the tracks in Greenwich Village Sunday night.
The 26-year-old signal helper was part of a crew investigating a signal failure near the Eighth Street Station beneath Broadway at 8:53 p.m. on Jan. 9 when a Q train hit him, according to transit union officials and reps for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
N Q R trains are delayed in both directions while emergency teams are responding to someone who was struck by a train at 8 St-NYU.
— NYCT Subway (@NYCTSubway) January 10, 2022
The victim had been on the job for more than five years and was flagging for the signal work when the northbound train collided with him on a curved section of the express track north of the station, according to transit officials and reps with the Transport Workers Union Local 100, the union representing the largest share MTA workers.
His fellow workers pulled the power after the incident and paramedics brought the worker to Bellevue Hospital for his wounds, which are non-life-threatening, according to an MTA spokesman.
The subway train continued to 14th Street to discharge its passengers.
Power was out for just over half an hour until 9:32 p.m., and service returned after that, but it is unclear what led to the collision.
“This tragic is accident is under investigation, but it highlights just how dangerous this job can be,” said John Chiarello, vice president for maintenance of way at TWU Local 100. “Transit workers are out on the system 24 hours a day, seven days a week, making repairs and inspections to keep NY moving.”
New York City Transit officials have launched an investigation, the head of the agency’s Subway division confirmed.
“Our thoughts and concern go to our colleague, an Electrical Helper who was seriously injured while part of a work crew exploring a report of signal failure on the Broadway line north of Eighth Street station,” said Demetrius Crichlow 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. The safety of transit employees is critically important which is why we are committed to learning any lessons that could help make tracks even safer.”
