Subway shove survivor recalls how he cheated death after madman pushed him onto tracks

After barely escaping death, a man in New York City who was shoved into the path of an approaching subway train described his terrifying experience in a recent interview. On the afternoon of December 31, forty-five-year-old Joseph Lynskey was waiting for a train to take him to Brooklyn on the platform of the 18th Street subway station in Manhattan. After a joyous lunch with pals, he told Eva Pilgrim of Good Morning America that he was going home to prepare for a party on New Year’s Eve. Then Lynskey was off above the tracks, in midair. The lights of a subway train came into view as his life flashed before his eyes. “I just thought, ‘I’ve been pushed, and I’m going to die,'” he told GMA. “It happened in a flash when I was midair. I knew that I had been pushed.”

His head, and then his body, crashed into the ground between the tracks. While he had miraculously survived the surprise shove, he knew that he was not out of danger. “So there’s a third rail that runs along the entirety of the MTA system,” Lynskey said. “It’s the electrified rail. If you touch it at all, you will die immediately. You cannot move. Don’t kick your feet. Don’t struggle. You will get electrocuted. You will die.” Four minutes later, Lynskey heard the welcome signs of approaching sirens, saying: “I closed my eyes because then I guess I felt kind of safe that help had arrived.”

The New York Fire Department carefully pulled Lynskey off the tracks and took him to Bellevue Hospital. He had a ruptured spleen, four broken ribs, and a cracked head. “I can’t thank all of them enough, and especially John and Jonathan for getting me out from underneath that one train,” added the man. He said on Good Morning America that he inquired about his cherished dog, Leo, right away. “He is sixteen years old. He’s a dachshund. He is a hero. ‘I know I’m terribly, really hurt,’ I murmured, turning to face the firefighters. You must assist me go to my puppy, even though I’m in a lot of pain.”

The New Yorker revealed that his near-death experience taught him that life is fleeting: “It’s a powerful reminder that this can all be taken away from you at any moment, and you have to keep going. Life is too short,” he said. “And I’m going to keep going.” Kamel Hawkins, 23, is accused of pushing a 45-year-old man onto subway tracks as a train approaches. (MTA) Less than an hour after the attack, a suspect was apprehended; he was identified as Kamel Hawkins, 23 of Brooklyn, who has nine previous arrests, according to the New York Police Department. “I’m choosing not to focus on the anger or resentment or negativity,” Lynskey said, “He is 23 years old. I know very little about him. I’m concentrating on getting better and returning to my life. According to authorities, he entered a not guilty plea to second-degree attempted murder, assault, and attempted assault.