Why is this story I just put up using "Write a Blog Entry" showing all my userpage info instead of just opening up on a new thread? Never had that happen before.

From what I've been reading from safety and survival specialists, freezing up in moments of crises is very common. People will wait in burning buildings, as they did in 9/11, waiting for instructions from authority. Worse, they will follow those instructions, even if they make no sense. The remedy is to mentally rehearse a course of action during such emergencies.

She died trying to recover her cellphone?

Darwin Award.

Be Well.

The train was obviously Republican

The train was obviously Republican.

Then thats makes the victim a Democrat for being stupid enough to get in front of a speeding train. There's another speeding train coming on November 2nd.

I take the train to work every day, and I have a personnel set of rules for conduct around the train tracks.

Number one is, when the signal is on, and the gates start going down, I will be behind the gate when it comes down fully.

Seems simple, but on occasion, as the train is coming into the station, someone will go running run across the tracks, so they won't miss getting on the train.

When that happens, the Engineer will get on the radio to the conductors, and tell them who it was, and kick them off the train. The train won't start moving, until they're off.

If the Engineer is really mad, they sometimes tell the next train, to leave them in the station.

Despite all this, about once a month, someone manages to get killed. And when that happens, you're stuck on the train for hours, while they investigate, cleanup, and get a new crew.

A neighbor said Mankos lived alone in her Stuyvesant Town apartment.

Rental Available! Act now!

Idolatry of material things can do that to you. When the chips are down and it's you or the phone, what will your decision be?

When the chips are down and it's you or the phone, what will your decision be?

Never happen to me ... One more reason to be glad I never got addicted to being on the phone everywhere. No cell phone to try and save.

A neighbor said Mankos lived alone in her Stuyvesant Town apartment.
Rental Available! Act now!
#7 | Posted by cookfish

LOL. Stuyvesant Town is nice.

She was probably sub-letting from an 80 year old aunt though. You'd be surprised how people circumvent the rent control laws that way.

There are 3 reactions to a bad situation. Flight, Freeze, Fight.

If the train could only hit another two million nyc would be less congested.

Just shows that exercise can be hazardous to your health.

One less idiot in the herd.

DAP-
That was my first thought, too.

She was also a lawyer.....

Question for you folks living back East -- how high off the ground are those subway platforms?

I think she must have just jumped after her bag instinctively. She had to have known she likely wouldn't have the upper body strength to pull herself up by her arms if the platform was high off the ground. Most women wouldn't.

One more question -- is there any place underneath a subway platform where she could at least have gotten off the tracks and out of the way of the train until it passed by?

You can tell I live in California and don't use many subways.

4' or so

Thanks, AU. So subway platforms are about 4' high. If she was an average size woman -- say 5'5" -- then she might have had a trouble being able to push herself up using only her arms. You would have thought her adrenaline would have kicked in and given her some extra strength but guess she just froze with fear. Too bad. Not a pleasant way to go, that's for sure.

Ya, you'd need some strength and agility to be able to pull yourself back up.

Jumping onto the tracks usually means a suicide attempt - successful. If the train doesn't get you the 3rd rail (electrified) will.

In speaking with her next of kin it turns out she came from the wrong side of the tracks.

Isn't there at least some kind of small space carved out underneath the subway platform that you could crawl into just far enough to be out of the way until the train passed by? Is is just a solid wall from the top of the platform down to the tracks?

But she was working out!

She had a gym bag that was just "TO DIE FOR"...

Isn't there at least some kind of small space carved out underneath the subway platform that you could crawl into just far enough to be out of the way until the train passed by? Is is just a solid wall from the top of the platform down to the tracks?

Solid next to the platforms. The only thing anyone could do is lay flat on the tracks if they're small enough and let the train pass over them.

Recall the story of the NYC hero, Wesley Autrey, who jumped on top of a guy who fell and saved his life?

It's a very sad story. And to those of you with your 'witty' asshole comments - not cool or funny.

#26 | Posted by NewYorker at 2010-03-14 01:33 PM
***"It's a very sad story. And to those of you with your 'witty' asshole comments - not cool or funny."

It really is, but when faced with a tradgedy one can either cry, or try to make light of it. And, since there is nothing that can be done about it at this juncture, crying doesn't seem very helpful...