Subway shove survivor recounts near-death experience
A man who was pushed onto New York City subway tracks in the path of an oncoming train is recounting the harrowing, near-death experience that left him with a fractured skull, four broken ribs and a ruptured spleen.
"I just thought, 'I've been pushed and I'm going to die,'" Joe Lynskey, 45, told ABC News' "Good Morning America" in a broadcast exclusive interview.
Lynskey had just finished a New Year's Eve brunch with his friends when a stranger pushed him onto the tracks at the 18th Street station in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood.
"It happened in a flash," he said.
"The next thing I knew, I was flying through the air, and I saw the two lights of the train in my face and I could make out the shape of the conductor," Lynskey said. "And then I crashed into the tracks and I smacked my head open on the ground."
Lynskey survived the initial push, but he knew he was still in life-threatening danger due to the subway system's electrified rail, known as the third rail.
"If you touch it at all, you will die immediately," he said. "You cannot move. Don't kick your feet, don't struggle."
Lynskey said he started screaming for help, and about 90 seconds in a woman responded to him and tried to keep him calm.
After about four minutes, Lynskey said he heard the sirens from rescuers rushing to the scene.
"They dragged me a few feet to the opening between the two subway cars and they told me to raise my hands above my head," he said. "Two firefighters on the platform pulled me up onto the platform -- and I heard my ribs crack. It was unbelievably painful."
Lynskey spent seven days in the hospital, including five days in intensive care, as he recovered from his fractured skull, broken ribs and ruptured spleen.
The 23-year-old suspected of pushing Lynskey, Kamel Hawkins, fled the scene and was apprehended later that day. He was indicted on charges including attempted murder and has pleaded not guilty.
Asked what he would say to Hawkins, Lynskey replied, "I'm choosing not to focus on the anger or resentment or negativity."
"I'm focusing on healing, recovering, getting myself back to my life," he said.
Lynskey said that his experience is "a powerful reminder that this can all be taken away from you at any moment, and you have to keep going. Life is too short."
Hawkins is next due in court on April 16.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg called the attack "a brutal and unprovoked act of violence."
"Every day, we will continue working closely with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who threaten the safety of New Yorkers utilizing our transit system," Bragg said in a statement.
The New York Police Department and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced this month that they're deploying more officers to patrol the subways.
ABC News' Amanda McMaster contributed to this report.
