Man Hit By Train At Penn Station; LIRR Service Shut Down As Evening Rush Begins
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Long Island Rail Road service was shut down at Penn Station as the Thursday afternoon rush began, after a man described as a panhandler ended up on the tracks and was hit by a train.
LIRR service was suspended in both directions between Penn Station and Jamaica for more than two hours, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
By 7 p.m., the LIRR had reported a total of 55 peak delays for the evening.
Man Hit By Train At Penn Station; LIRR Service Shut Down As Evening Rush Begins
The MTA said the man, identified as Eduardo Dellaviginia, 35, jumped from between two cars of a train heading out of Penn Station and suffered a broken ankle when he ended up on the tracks.
MTA police described Dellaviginia as a "known panhandler" at Penn Station, who in the past has gotten tickets for "fraudulent accosting." Panhandlers sometimes board trains waiting to head out of Penn Station to ask the passengers for money, and make it back onto the platform before the trains leave, MTA police said.
But Dellaviginia apparently did not exit in time, and he decided to find another way off the train as it left rather than waiting to get off in Woodside, Queens, police said.
He positioned himself between the second and third car of the train and jumped to the tracks while the train was moving, police said.
LIRR spokesman Sal Arena told WCBS 880: "As the train pulled out -- obviously it's pulling out, it's going relatively slowly -- he jumps from between two cars."
The train crew was alerted and immediately stopped the train and shut down power, police said.
The man was pulled out of the tunnel and was rushed to Bellevue Hospital Center in an unknown condition.
The incident caused chaos both inside and outside of Penn Station, CBS2's Matt Kozar reported. Thousands of people were squashed like sardines as they tried to get home, and the commuter were glued to the big board for the latest announcements.
"I just wish there was a little bit more information given to us from the LIRR," one man said.
Ed from Franklin Square arrived at Penn Station only to find the gates closed.
"I knew it wasn't going to be good," he told WCBS 880's Marla Diamond. "A friend of mine had emailed me, said that there were delays."
During and after the shutdown, the subway system honored LIRR fares in both directions on the No. 7 train between Woodside, Queens and 42nd Street, on the E train between Jamaica and Penn Station, and on the Nos. 2 and 3 trains between Penn Station and the Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn.
