Police: Man Fatally Shoved into Oncoming NYC Subway Train While Fighting over Dropped Cell Phone

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 25: Police search for a suspect in a Times Square subway statio
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Ethan Letkeman

A New York City man was fatally shoved into an oncoming subway train after being involved in a fight with a stranger, according to police.

Carlos Garcia, 50, is accused of shoving Heriberto Quintana, 48, onto the tracks of a Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue 74th Street station in Queens at around 4:45 p.m. on Monday after they reportedly got into an argument over a dropped cell phone. Quintana was subsequently hit and rolled over by two Northbound F subway cars before the conductor could stop the train.

The victim was recovered from underneath the train with severe trauma to the head and body and was rushed by EMS to Elmhurst Hospital, where he later died.

According to the New York Daily News, surveillance video shows the two men rolling around on the platform while fighting before the victim fell onto the tracks. One witness — an MTA station cleaner — said he heard a commotion on the platform before the victim was hit.

“I heard a loud argument, an altercation. It was two Spanish guys — older, like in their 50s,” the employee told the New York Post. “You could hear them yelling on the mezzanine level. Then I heard screams and ran down to the platform.”

Following the fatal incident, other witnesses identified Garcia as the individual who allegedly was fighting Quintana, resulting in the 50-year-old being brought into the police station for questioning.

Garcia was charged on Tuesday with manslaughter, the Daily News reported.

The fatal shoving has left the MTA station cleaner worried about his own safety following the rise in subway crimes in the Democrat-controlled city.

“I wouldn’t say I’m scared but I’m concerned,” he said. “I’m concerned about my own safety as an MTA employee.”

According to the Post, this is the ninth homicide on New York City’s subway system this year. On Monday, Mayor Eric Adams (D) blamed the increase in subway homicides on gun crime, but only three deaths have been attributed to shootings.

Violent crime in New York City has increased by 31 percent since last year, while transit crime has jumped by a whopping 41.4 percent, according to NYPD crime statistics.

You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.

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