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Straphangers Sue MTA For Leaving Them Stranded Over 8 Hours In Last Year's Blizzard
By
John Del Signore
Published Dec 27, 2011
Modified Dec 27, 2011
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By
John Del Signore
Published Dec 27, 2011
Modified Dec 27, 2011
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A group of emotionally scarred commuters who were trapped on an A train for eight hours overnight during last year's Christmas weekend blizzard are suing the MTA. Nearly 500 souls were stuck aboard the train when it ground to a halt between the Aqueduct and Rockaway Boulevard stations around 1 a.m. on December 26th, as three feet of snow piled up around them. Desperation quickly set in: Twitter user OMJohnnyG wrote, "Son!!! I wanna go home!!! Dudes on the train talking about cannibalism lol I want out!!!"
The train had become stuck when power was cut to the third rail, but at some point overnight—before OMJohnnyG became a midnight snack—it managed to crawl to the Aqueduct Station. According to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by the Post, "When the train was finally moved, the passengers were off loaded at the next stop, in the freezing cold, with about three feet of snow on the ground." Agnes Hui, was was on the train on her way back from JFK, tells the tabloid, "There was no one to help us. It was a nightmare. I couldn’t hold it [bodily functions] anymore. I had to go between the cars. I could have been electrocuted."
The lawsuit says some of the passengers had to be hospitalized when it was all over, but it turns out there was a simple explanation for this ordeal. NYC Transit President Thomas Prendergast told the City Council earlier this month, "We forgot about it. And it’s inexcusable." About 25 people are plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages and is expected to be filed today. Something tells us the folks who were stranded at a subway station for 32 hours during the blizzard will be following this case with great interest!
Tagged
a train
blizzageddon
blizzard 2010
lawsuit
lawsuits
MTA
nyc transit
subway
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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