The man accused of randomly shoving a straphanger onto a Chelsea subway track just as a train pulled into the station on New Year’s Eve in the latest shocking, underground attack has been charged with murder, police said.
Photo by Dean Moses
The man accused of randomly shoving a straphanger onto a Manhattan subway track just as a train pulled into the station on New Year’s Eve has been charged with murder, police said.
Kamel Hawkins, 23, stands accused of approaching a 45-year-old man from behind at around 1:30 p.m. at the 18th Street station on 7th Avenue as he waited for an Uptown 1 train before pushing him onto the roadbed.
Disturbing surveillance video caught the unprovoked assault and shows two men hopping the turnstile seconds before Hawkins allegedly struck, ramming his victim into the path of the train.
Miraculously, the man appeared to fall in a gap between the tracks. The train passed over him, leaving him alive, though seriously wounded.
EMS rushed the victim to Bellevue Hospital, where he was placed in critical condition.
Police sources report that transit cops were searching train cars and spotted a suspect matching the assailant’s description. The victim was later able to identify him.
Hawkins has one prior arrest for aggravated assault dating back to October.
He was questioned at Transit District 1 before being escorted out of the station house by police in cuffs. He remained silent as reporters peppered him with questions.
Hawkins has been charged with attempted murder and felony assault.
This comes on the heels of several high-profile crimes within New York’s transit system, including the murder of Debrina Kawam aboard a Brooklyn F train. The 57-year-old was set on fire and her last moments were caught in a horrific, viral video that shocked the city.
