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Woman Whose Spine Was Fractured By Homophobic Man Afraid To Go On Subway Again
By
Ben Yakas
Published Dec 11, 2018
Modified Dec 11, 2018
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DCPI
By
Ben Yakas
Published Dec 11, 2018
Modified Dec 11, 2018
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Two weeks ago, a man allegedly sucker-punched a woman on the E train because he thought she was a lesbian, hitting her so hard she fractured her spine. The woman, who is still recovering from her injuries, has now talked to ABC7 about the incident: "I don't think I'm ever gonna get on a train again."
The incident happened just after 5 p.m. Friday, November 30th, in Queens on a Manhattan-bound E train. The 20-year-old woman, who asked that her identity remain anonymous, and a friend were killing time onboard: "We were making Snapchats, that's what we always do," she said. "We were making Snapchats, she gave me a kiss on the cheek." After that kiss, the suspect began making homophobic remarks to them. "He said, 'do those gay things in front of me one more time and watch what happens,'" she said.
They got into a shouting match, during which the man reportedly called her a "dyke." The woman and her friend started to walk away from the man when he crept up behind them. "I felt him right behind me, I felt a punch in my back," she said. "And it all happened so quick it was just a blur."
It was more than just one punch: "I turned around and he already had his hand on my chest and he threw me back which caused my head to hit the pole and my back hit the ground first, which fractured my spine," the woman said. She said others on the train got up to protect her, and the man fled the train at the next stop at Forest Hills-71st Ave.
The victim was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center with a fractured spine. "Last week I spent the whole week crying and in excruciating pain," she added.
Police say the Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the incident. You can see a cell phone video of the suspect below; he is described as 5'11", 220 lbs, and 50-60 years old. No arrest has been made as of this afternoon.
"My hopes are that he's arrested, not for revenge, it's not what I want," the woman said. "So he won't ever do this to anyone else. I don't want someone else to feel this."
Tagged
e train
hate crime
spine
subway
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas 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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