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Alleged Subway Vandal Charged In Sunday's A Train Derailment
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Sep 21, 2020
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By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Sep 21, 2020
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A Bronx man accused of tossing construction debris onto the subway tracks on Sunday morning, causing an A train to derail at 14th Street, has been arrested and charged, police said.
Demetrius Harvard, 30, faces charges of reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, assault and criminal trespass.
He was believed to have thrown a metal rail plate — normally used to secure the subway tracks — in a train's path at the 14th Street/8th Avenue subway station at around 8 a.m., according to police and reports.
The first car of the northbound A train derailed after striking the plates, careening into four columns separating the tracks, and shredding the car's metal exterior. All 134 passengers on board were safely evacuated onto a local train, which dropped them off at 34th Street.
“There were some people injured but thankfully no serious injuries,” Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said on NY1 on Monday morning. He added that “there was a bystander that did a lot of great work on this incident and led us to capturing him within minutes.”
Video shows Harvard in handcuffs being led out of the NYPD’s Transit District Headquarters on Canal Street on Sunday.
The Daily News reports that commuters overheard the man laughing maniacally at the destruction. An incident report obtained by the outlet shows that police recovered a full rail plate inside the tunnel.
Harvard was previously arrested earlier this month for allegedly tossing a metal bench through a bus window at 8th Avenue and 22nd Street, police said.
Several hundred feet of track, columns, and third rail were damaged in the alleged act of vandalism, according to the MTA.
Full service was restored on the A/C/E lines on Monday morning, with some delays expected.
"As a result of herculean efforts by dozens of maintenance and repair crews, hundreds of feet of damage to tracks, third rails and pillars are expected to be sufficiently repaired and replaced in time for the morning rush, with northbound express delays likely in the 14th Street area," reads an MTA press release.
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Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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