NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Authorities are investigating the death of an MTA worker who was dragged by a train while working on the tracks at the Herald Square subway station early Wednesday morning.
At about 12:15 a.m., Hilarion Joseph, 57, was working as a flagger for a track-work crew at the 34th Street–Herald Square station when he was struck by an in-service uptown D train running on the express track, Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials said.
Investigators are looking into the possibility his clothing was caught by the passing train before he was dragged under its wheels. No criminality is suspected, police said.
“There was work taking place, scheduled work. The fellow was flagging,” MTA chair Janno Lieber said at an MTA Board Safety Committee meeting Wednesday morning. “Our folks were at the hospital last night with the worker’s family. Obviously they’re very much in our thoughts right now.”
The emergency brake was pulled when the front cars of the train arrived at the Herald Square station.
Riders walked to the front of the train in order to exit onto the platform.
Medics rushed the employee to Bellevue Hospital where he died, officials said.
Flaggers help promote safety by alerting oncoming train crews to track work further down the line.
What went wrong is still “very much still under investigation,” Lieber said.
The National Transportation Board is sending a team to investigate the death.
All non-essential track work was suspended Wednesday following Joseph’s death.
NYC Transit President Rich Davey 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,” he said.