awful things

Update: Victim in Afternoon Subway Tragedy Was Retrieving Her Handbag From Tracks

Initial reports that a high-school-aged girl was involved in this afternoon’s subway accident have changed, but not before parents and teachers at local Wagner Junior High School feverishly located the students. The victim was a 48-year-old woman, who climbed onto the tracks at 77th Street to retrieve a black nylon LeSportsac shoulder bag. Passengers on the platform encouraged her to lie down between the tracks as the northbound 6 train approached, but instead she attempted to scramble back onto the platform. When she didn’t have time, she seemed to press herself against the side of the platform, where there is a gap of only a few inches. The train’s emergency brake was engaged before the collision.

Woman crushed by subway train after jumping on tracks to retrieve purse [NYP]
Woman Is Killed by a Subway Train After Trying to Retrieve a Bag on the Track [NYT]

Update: Victim in Afternoon Subway Tragedy Was Retrieving Her Handbag From Tracks