Terrifying moment woman, 40, is shoved onto subway tracks and run over by a train in an 'unprovoked' attack at a NYC station
The shocking moment a woman was shoved into the path of an incoming train by a stranger in a Manhattan subway station on Thursday morning was captured on surveillance footage.
The unidentified 40-year-old woman miraculously escaped with only minor injuries after lying flat on the track bed as the train passed over her.
She was pushed from the northbound 4/5/6 platform at the 14th St - Union Square station at around 8.45am.
Her assailant, 24-year-old homeless man Aditya Vemulapati immediately turned himself in after the 'unprovoked' attack.
He was charged with attempted murder, assault and reckless endangerment on Thursday afternoon.
According to CBS, witnesses said they saw Vemulapati pacing and muttering to himself on the platform before pushing the woman as the train pulled in.
He allegedly didn't say a word as he pushed her and made no attempt to run away.
'A suspect was immediately taken into custody after a vicious and unprovoked assault at 14th St Union Sq,' NYPD Transit said. 'This is an ongoing investigation.'
Emergency responders rushed to the scene after receiving several frantic 911 calls.
They found the unidentified 40-year-old woman trapped under a 5 train with a head injury and FDNY ordered power to the tracks to be shut down as they pulled the victim out.
She had allegedly been able to lay flat on the track bed as the train went over her, avoiding major injuries. Two subway cars passed over her before the train came to a stop.
Her injuries were considered non-life-threatening and she was alert and conscious but was taken to Bellevue Hospital, cops said.
A woman was hospitalized on Thursday morning after being pushed onto the tracks at Union Square subway station and struck by a 5 train in an unprovoked attack on a male assailant
FDNY rescue the 40-year-old woman pushed under a train by a stranger on Thursday
FDNY had to cut off the power to the train as they rescued the woman from under a car
'It was by the grace of God that she sustained only minor injuries,' NYPD Transit Chief Kathleen O’Reilly said.
'We see him waiting and calculating when the train comes into the station, and at the opportune moment he pushed her to the tracks.
'Twenty-two million passengers pass through this station every year, so it’s fortunate for us that our officers knew exactly where they needed to be,' O'Reilly added.
Witnesses pointed out Vemulapati and he immediately surrendered to an MTA train service supervisor by lying on the ground, the New York Daily News reports.
Platform conductor Bernie Wilkerson identified himself to the New York Post as the MTA employee.
He said he saw the 'disheveled-looking' man 'run full speed and pushed her onto the tracks'. Wilkerson shouted at Vemulapati and said he then dropped to the ground.
'I think he thought I was a cop,' he said. 'She’s gonna make it with minor injuries and that’s a great bit.'
Crowds looked on as the woman was rescued. Witnesses were able to identify the attacker who immediately surrendered to an MTA train service supervisor by lying on the ground
Emergency responders rushed to the scene after receiving several frantic 911 calls at 8.30am
'We have a lot of people coming through here ... including the homeless,' Capt. Anthony Guadagno, commander of Transit District 4, said of Union Station.
'As soon as the incident happened, the suspect saw an MTA worker and put himself on the ground. Immediately thereafter, an officer made the apprehension.'
'This is someone who was minding their business waiting to go to work and then suddenly someone comes out of nowhere and throws them on the tracks,' New York City Transit Interim President Sarah Feinberg told Daily News.
'This city has a mental health crisis and people are desperate for mental care.'
Thursday morning's assault was the second time in 14 hours that a person was pushed onto NYC subway tracks by a stranger.
On Wednesday evening, a 36-year-old man was also beaten and shoved to the train tracks at 42nd St.-Bryant Park by a panhandler.
Justin Pena, 23, was arrest for the attack on Thursday afternoon and also charged with attempted murder and reckless endangerment.
The man had allegedly refused to give his attacker change. Cops are now looking for a suspect who was pictured wearing a red tracksuit.
