NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A suspect was arrested Thursday in this week's "disgusting" Upper East Side subway shoving that left a 74-year-old man with various fractures to his rib, spine and pelvis, officials said.
Derrick Mills, 49, of Manhattan, was charged with assault Thursday evening in the 13th Precinct. His arrest came a day after police put out surveillance images of him.
NYC Transit president Richard Davey praised the arrest in a statement Friday, saying the subway's numerous surveillance cameras had captured the attacker.
"We've said over and over that if you commit a crime in the New York City subway system, your picture will be taken, the NYPD will find you, and we will press for maximum prosecution," Davey said.
"This was a disgusting incident that understandably unsettled riders and we appreciate the rapid arrest that was assisted by a New Yorker who saw a photo of the perpetrator that was taken by a station platform camera," his statement continued.
Investigators believe Mills is the screaming man who pushed the victim off a downtown 6 platform at the 68th Street–Hunter College station around 12:15 a.m. Tuesday.
The victim landed on the tracks, but no train was approaching at the time and an MTA worker was able to pull him back onto the platform.
The random assault left the victim with rib, spinal and pelvic fractures, police said. He was being treated at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.
The victim, Trevor Crawford, told PIX11 Thursday that he was heading home from work when his attacker stormed up and accused him of saying something to him, even though he hadn't said anything.
"He was so fast, he came around the other side, he opened his eyes wide," Crawford recalled of the moments before the push.
"I never expected it to happen to me," he said.