By Julianne Cuba
Police arrested a teenager who allegedly shoved 65-year-old man onto the subway tracks at Downtown’s Jay Street-MetroTech station early Wednesday afternoon, killing him.
Cops said the 18-year-old was mumbling to himself on the R train platform inside the station near Willoughby and Bridge streets when he approached Staten Island resident Jacinto Suarez around 2:25 pm. The two then started arguing, and Suarez tried to shoo the teen away before the suspect allegedly socked the victim so hard that he fell backwards onto the tracks, knocking him unconscious, authorities said.
A straphanger must have lifted the victim off of the rails because he was back on the platform when paramedics arrived, a police source said. Cops wouldn’t reveal if the punch, the fall, or something else caused the death, but according to a New York Daily News report, Suarez suffered a heart attack.
Paramedics transported the unconscious man to Brooklyn Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead at 3:51 pm, police said.
Cops cuffed the teen after taking him into custody on Wednesday evening and bringing him to Bellevue Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation because he was acting irrationally, officials said, and the Daily News reported the suspect recently stopped taking medication for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
Police charged the 18-year-old today with manslaughter and assault, according to authorities.
