Every now and then, when it’s late and I’m bored, if I’m a rare three-track station, I’ll look across the tracks and eye the other platform. The distance always seems short enough to jump, but who would do that? Apparently, a few foolish folks at the 9th Avenue station would. Observe:
The gap, which measures around 10-11 feet, is apparently small enough for a good long jump, but this stunt, as many have pointed out, is beyond dumb. In fact, everyone has banded together to decry this video, amNew York reported today. Wrote Ivan Pereira:
Gene Russianoff, of the Straphangers Campaign, said he has seen hundreds of stories of people playing around in subway stations, but this one was by far the worst. Although both men jumped when there were no trains approaching, there still were big risks, including a 600-volt shock from the tracks, Russianoff said…
Transport Workers Union spokesman Jim Gannon, who called the YouTube jumpers “jackasses,” agreed. “It’s also a terrible thing for train crews to live with if one of the teens falls under the wheels and gets cut to pieces,” he said. The NYPD said it is not investigating the jumpers, but warned that jumping platforms can lead to a citation and, if done repeatedly, a misdemeanor charge.
The MTA, which also criticized the daredevils, said trains have struck 29 people so far this year. The agency said it cannot determine how many of those injuries were related to people playing around on the track. Kevin Ortiz, the agency’s spokesman, said the MTA has been pushing an advertising campaign warning people to be wary of the dangers of subway station. “However, the campaign does not address this type of idiocy,” he said.
The two jumpers actually started on the side with the third rail and jumped away from it, but that’s besides the point. Any number of things could have gone horribly wrong. If these three thrill-seeakers wanted to do something equally off limits but far less dangerous at the 9th Avenue station, they should have just snuck down to the abandoned lower level. Don’t try that at home either.
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