Man Arrested After Throwing Woman Onto Philly Subway Tracks

[fairviewroad]

A man who attacked a woman in a SEPTA subway station and threw her on the train tracks has been charged with aggravated assault, robbery, and other felonies.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20130118_Philly_man_arrested_for_pushing_woman_onto_SEPTA_tracks.html

The article includes surveillance video of the incident. The good news is that despite the violent attack, the woman was able

to safely climb off the subway tracks and onto the opposing platform (not shown).

Some context: This happened at the little-used Chinatown station on the Broad-Ridge Spur. The Broad-Ridge Spur itself sees

relatively infrequent service compared to the main line. Even at 3:20 in the afternoon, service is "every 20 minutes or less"

according to the timetable. (As a side note, it's one of the only rapid transit stations in Philly that does not sit directly under or

over a city street.)

Having used the Chinatown station a handful of times, I can say it always gave me the creeps. It has the unusual and unique

distinction of being the only station on the Broad Street Line without a "sales office" meaning you actually pay your fare to

the operator of the train. The low level of ridership at this station also means there is frequently no one else around waiting

for the train. Unfortunately, as this woman found out, it's not a particularly safe place to be, even in the middle of the afternoon.

Ironically, it's more or less across the street from the Philly Police Dep't HQ, but without physically putting an officer down there,

that doesn't really mean anything.

Another aside: Given the low level of ridership and the largely redundant nature of the Broad-Ridge Spur, I've always been

surprised that SEPTA continues to operate it. I kind of think those resources could be better used elsewhere...just MHO.

 

[BCL]

I'm starting to worry now. I take all forms of public transportation, and the lower cost options with self-contained environments allow all sorts of mentally-ill people (mostly homeless) to ride for hours and/or hang out. I've seen obvious crazies threaten to attack people for looking at them the wrong way. Once I saw a bag lady threaten to "cut up" a guy's girlfriend, and he eventually shoved her **out** of a car at the station. Nobody in the car really disagreed that it wasn't the right thing to do. He didn't throw her onto the tracks, and I don't think he would have thought of doing it either.

It's gotten to the point where I look at my surroundings and have a plan for what to do if some nut decides to shove me onto the tracks. A lot of train stations have space around the trains and someone cool thinking might even lie flat between the tracks. Subway systems have issues with third rails. I see some stations with overhanging platforms, although they also have issues with electric rails. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I'm guessing I'm not the only one.

 

[Acela150]

Sorry folks.. Violence on Philly Transit is becoming the norm. About a month ago there was a shooting at 46th Street because 76ers fans didn't like Chicago Bulls fans... Because that's how some live..

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

People keep getting thrownonto subway tracks. This could cause ridership loss because huge amounts of people get scared that they'll get thrown off too. Heck, evem I'm gonna be untra careful in a subway substion, or anything else with a high-level platform.

I'm glad she survived, though. Most don't survive this.

 

[Acela150]

Ridership on Septa is still stronger then ever. It's because Philadelphian's know what to expect. All the Buses, Subway cars, Silverliner V's, Trolleys, and Trackless Trolleys, have high grade security cameras in them. They give an amazing picture. But Philadelphia is a Phffed up city if you get the just of what I'm saying. Walk two blocks the wrong way and your in a bad neighborhood.

 

[Bob Dylan]

What do you Expect in a Town where they Boo Santa Claus and Cheer when Athletes are Seriously Injured! How Long has it been since ANY Team Won Anything for these Losers!

 

[AlanB]

I'm glad she survived, though. Most don't survive this.

The station where this happened is the end of the line. So trains have to come in slowly, so as to to hit the bumper block. It's also not a super busy station in terms of the number of trains. So that helps to decrease the chances that you get hit by a train, which is what happened in her case. She was not hit by a train and therefore only suffered the consequences of a 4 foot fall.

 

[SarahZ]

Crazies are everywhere. As such, every time we ride the L, we stay as far away from the edge as possible. Every time B walks to the edge to lean over and look for the train, I yell at him. I HATE when he does that.

At the platforms where you can transfer for free (brown/red/purple), there aren't any walls to lean against, as your back is to another set of tracks. I usually hang out near the bench where they put the maps and stuff. It's right in the middle and nowhere near the crowd.

Don't even get me started on the Addison stop after Cubs games. I've seen so much jostling up there it unnerves me. We usually walk down to the Belmont stop.

 

[JayPea]

What do you Expect in a Town where they Boo Santa Claus and Cheer when Athletes are Seriously Injured! How Long has it been since ANY Team Won Anything for these Losers!

Jim, how quickly we forget! The '08 World Series, Philly over Tampa Bay!

 

[Acela150]

What do you Expect in a Town where they Boo Santa Claus and Cheer when Athletes are Seriously Injured! How Long has it been since ANY Team Won Anything for these Losers!

Hey we're insane people... We practically got rid of Andy Reid by chanting "Fire Andy" for the past two seasons. Jayson Werth deserves to be booed.. He talked so much S*&t on us (the fans and the Phillies) that he deserves to get booed for being a d*&k.

Signed Steve a Proud Philly Phan

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I'm glad she survived, though. Most don't survive this.

The station where this happened is the end of the line. So trains have to come in slowly, so as to to hit the bumper block. It's also not a super busy station in terms of the number of trains. So that helps to decrease the chances that you get hit by a train, which is what happened in her case. She was not hit by a train and therefore only suffered the consequences of a 4 foot fall.

It's not a very busy line but Chinatown is not the last stop. 8th Street is.

Spring Garden got shut down due to high crime and low ridership.

 

[Acela150]

I'm glad she survived, though. Most don't survive this.

The station where this happened is the end of the line. So trains have to come in slowly, so as to to hit the bumper block. It's also not a super busy station in terms of the number of trains. So that helps to decrease the chances that you get hit by a train, which is what happened in her case. She was not hit by a train and therefore only suffered the consequences of a 4 foot fall.

It's not a very busy line but Chinatown is not the last stop. 8th Street is.

Spring Garden got shut down due to high crime and low ridership.

The Spur has service every 5-10 minutes during Rush Hour and 15 minutes during off peak periods. So it's a somewhat busy line. Chinatown is the only stop on the Spur. It's 3 minutes between 8th and Market and Fairmount where it switches off the main. Not a high speed line.

 

[fairviewroad]

Another note about the spur is that they usually run 2-car trains, at least in my experience. So the trains could

probably stop more quickly than a full-length train. But fortunately there was no train imminently approaching in this situation

so there was no chance to prove that point.