Shocking footage shows man being pushed in front of subway train in NYC as man charged with attempted murder
Joe Yates
Featured Image Credit: NBC
A man has miraculously survived after he was pushed in front of a train on New Year's Eve in New York City.
Joseph Lynskey was minding his own business waiting for a train at a Chelsea subway station in Manhattan when 23-year-old Kamel Hawkins is alleged to have shoved him off the platform at an oncoming train shortly after 1.30pm on December 31.
However, the 45-year-old cheated death by landing beside the train and not under it - although officials confirmed that he was still struck by it, but not head-on.
Warning: Video contains footage that some readers may find upsetting
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While Lynskey, a DJ whose stage name is Joe Usher, suffered serious injuries, they are not thought to be life-threatening. They include: four broken ribs, a fractured skull and a ruptured spleen, according to court documents.
Hawkins was caught up to by cops just hours later and was subsequently arrested and charged with second degree attempted murder, as well as four counts of assault.
CCTV footage shows Lynskey, who was stood close to the platform edge checking his phone, wearing what appears to be a brown puffer jacket and blue jeans when the suspect, who was wearing dark clothing and a black face mask, strolls past him.
The suspect then turns back and pushes Lynskey onto the track right as a train pulled into the station.
Hawkins is already facing charges for harassment and assault for throwing bleach on a woman and trying to kick her door down, according to a criminal complaint lodged with the Brooklyn criminal court.
Despite the allegations, his dad Shamel Spencer claimed to The New York Times that his son is 'not a bad kid at all', adding that he's 'usually focused and work-driven' but that 'right now he's not himself'.
Hawkins will be held in jail until his court date on Monday (January 6).
The incident comes just nine days after 57-year-old Debrina Kawam was set on fire and burned to death in what also appeared to be a seemingly random attack while on the Subway on December 22.
The train was sat at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station at about 7.30am local time when she was approached by 33-year-old Sebastian Zapata.
Investigators believe there was no conversation or even interaction between the pair before the man used a lighter to set her clothing alight while she was asleep and allegedly fanned the fire with a shirt before getting off the train and watching the flames grow from a bench outside the subway coach.