NEW YORK – A saboteur clamped wooden planks to a track bed Sunday morning causing a New York City subway train to derail and leading to extensive damage. Three riders were injured.
The uptown A train ran over the debris around 8:17 a.m. in the West Village causing one of its wheels to upend from the track and the side of the car to hit three posts, WPIX reported.
The suspect who sabotaged the tracks laughed when he saw the accident, the New York Daily News reported. Witnesses held the man until authorities arrived and took him into custody. The man’s identity has not yet been released. He is described as a 30-year-old homeless man, WABC reported. Charges are pending. The suspect is believed to have previously placed sandbags on the tracks, WNBC reported.
There were about 30 passengers on the train. They all were able to safely get off. Three passengers were slightly injured, the Daily News reported. One refused medical attention. The other two victims were being evaluated at the scene.
The track was badly damaged causing a loss of power to all four tracks and prompting service to be suspended in both directions south of 14th Street. Other trains were being rerouted as well.
