NEW YORK (PIX11)—
Detectives are looking at surveillance video to try and determine if a man who was struck and killed by a train was running away from a crime.They're at a loss as to why the unidentified middle- aged man ran across the tracks from the northbound platform of the 77th Street and Lexington Avenue subway station into the path of southbound number 6 train. It was speculated that he may have been attempting to board the train.
Steve Guzman, a passenger on the train, told PIX 11 News the train was coming into the station when he suddenly heard a thump and saw people looking onto the tracks. "I was shocked, " he said. The incident brought out an unusually high police response, including the crime scene van and high-ranking officers not commonly seen at these things.
The victim was not being chased by police, I was told. However, according to a source, detectives are exploring the possibility the man may have spotted two police officers on the platform and that may have frightened him into jumping onto the tracks to get to the other side. The 77th Street station was shut down for more than five hours. Trains bypassed the local stop on the express tracks.
The station was reopened and normal service resumed after 9 pm. The body was removed from the tracks and lay covered on the platform for hours before being removed to the morgue. The identity of the victim has not yet been released.
