MTA worker dragged and killed under train at Manhattan station
This image shows Hilarion Joseph, the MTA worker killed in an accident at Herald Square.
NEW YORK - A New York City subway worker was dragged under a train and killed early Wednesday, officials said.
The fatal accident happened at about 12:15 a.m. just south of the Macy's-Herald Square station in Manhattan, Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials said.
The 57-year-old employee, who FOX 5 NY confirmed to be Hilarion Joseph, was working as a flagger when he somehow got dragged under a northbound D train, officials said. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
"There was work taking place, scheduled work. The fellow was flagging, and it's very much still under investigation on what went wrong." MTA Chair Janno Lieber said at a meeting of the MTA board's safety committee. "Our folks were at the hospital last night with the worker's family. Obviously, they're very much in our thoughts right now."
A person waits on a platform to board a subway train at the 34th Street - Herald Square station on November 16, 2023, in New York City. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
Flaggers are supposed to help promote safety by alerting oncoming train crews to track work further down the line.
NYC Transit President Rich Davey, who is in charge of the city's subways and buses, asked for a moment of silence for the fallen worker. "These are dangerous jobs that we ask our people to do day in and day out," Davey said.
The National Transportation Board said it was sending a team to investigate the death.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.