In a recent interview, a man pushed into the path of an oncoming subway train in New York City shared his terrifying experience of narrowly avoiding death.
Joseph Lynskey, aged 45, was waiting for a train at the 18th Street subway station in Manhattan on the afternoon of December 31. After a celebratory lunch with friends, he was on his way home to prepare for a New Year’s Eve party, as he recounted to Good Morning America’s Eva Pilgrim.
Lynskey then found himself in midair above the tracks. He saw the lights of an oncoming subway train as his life flashed before his eyes.
“I just thought, ‘I’ve been pushed, and I’m going to die,'” he told GMA. “It happened in a flash when I was midair. I knew that I had been pushed.”
He was in the intensive care unit for five days.
“The nursing staff there and the care team there were amazing,” he said. “Truly amazing.”
The New Yorker shared that his brush with death taught him that life is short.
“It serves as a strong reminder that everything can be taken from you in an instant, and you must keep moving forward. Life is too brief,” he reflected. “I will persevere.”
My whole life has changed…
Kamel Hawkins, 23, has been charged with attempted murder for allegedly shoving a 45-year-old man onto subway tracks while a train approached. (MTA)
Less than an hour after the attack, a suspect was in custody. He was identified as Kamel Hawkins, 23, of Brooklyn. Hawkins, according to the New York Police Department, has nine prior arrests.
“I’m choosing not to focus on the anger or resentment or negativity,” Lynskey said. “He’s 23. I don’t know much about him. I’m focusing on healing, recovering, getting myself back to my life.”
He has pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder, assault and attempted assault, police said.
