'There was no way I could have saved him': Photographer claims he was too far away to pull 'doomed' subway rider off train tracks

  • Suspect Naeem Davis, 30, charged with murder after admitting to pushing 58-year-old Ki Suk Han onto subway tracks at 49th Street in Manhattan
  • Han, a father of one, killed by oncoming Q train as he tried to pull himself up from tracks
  • More than a minute - and possibly as long as 90 seconds - passed before the train pinned Mr Han between the well and train, a police source said
  • New York Post freelance photographer took pictures of grisly moments before Han was fatally struck
  • Paper has been blasted for poor taste in publishing Han's last moments

The photographer who captured the deeply controversial image of a New York City subway rider moments before he was hit and killed by a train claims there was nothing he could have done to pull the man off the tracks.

R. Umar Abbasi says he was running toward Ki Suk Han, 58, but was too far away to reach him before he was crushed between the platform and the oncoming train.

Mr Abbasi, a New York Post freelance photographer, has become the subject of intense outrage for shooting the pictures. Critics say he chose to snap the disturbing shots instead of helping Mr Han.

Police on Wednesday charged Naeem Davis, 30, with second-degree murder after he admitted to shoving Mr Han following an argument.

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Grisly death: 58-year-old Ki Suk Han was killed by a subway train after being pushed into its path in Times Square on Monday

Grisly death: 58-year-old Ki Suk Han was killed by a subway train after being pushed into its path in Times Square on Monday

Mr Abbasi said in an interview on NBC's Today show on Wednesday that he did everything he could to help.

'If this thing happened again with the same circumstances, whether I had a camera or not, and I was running toward him, there was no way I could have rescued Mr Han,' Mr Abbasi said.

'What really surprises me were the people who were maybe 100 feet or 150 feet away from Mr Han, they did not reach out to help him.'

Mr Abbasi repeatedly referred to the other people on the train platform, up to 18, who were closer to Mr Han and could have helped him to safety.

Mr Abbasi says he was returning from a Post assignment in Times Square and had his camera in his hand when Davis allegedly pushed Mr Han onto the tracks.

He said the only thing he could think to do was fire the flash on his camera at the driver on the oncoming 'Q' train to get his attention.

'Nothing he could do': New York Post photographer R Umar Abbasi appeared on the Today show to defend himself and claim he could not have saved Mr Han

'Nothing he could do': New York Post photographer R Umar Abbasi appeared on the Today show to defend himself and claim he could not have saved Mr Han

Mr Abbasi claims took the pictures as he was firing his flash and was not purposely trying to capture Mr Han's moment of death - or photograph anything at all.

When Today show hosts questioned him about 'selling' his images to the Post, he recoiled at the idea.

'I would call it licensing to use it. Selling a photograph of this nature sounds morbid. I licensed these photographs,' he said.

Davis was taken into custody for questioning Tuesday after security video showed a man fitting the suspect's description working with street vendors near Rockefeller Center. Police said Davis made statements implicating himself in Ki-Suck Han's death.

Davis was formally charged on Wednesday with second-degree murder. He was in custody, and it wasn't immediately clear if he had a lawyer. It wasn't clear when he'd appear in court.

It was also revealed on Wednesday that Mr Han struggled for a 'whole minute' to crawl back onto the platform as onlookers watched, according to a police source.

More than a minute - and possibly as long as 90 seconds - passed before the train pinned Mr Han between the well and train, a police source said.

'I have to say I was surprised at the anger over the pictures, of the people who are saying: Why didn’t he put the camera down and pull him out? But I can’t let the armchair critics bother me,' Abbassi wrote in the New York Post. 

He said that after the train struck the father-of-one, he sprang into action and when a crowd started to take photos of him, he screamed at them to get back and told a woman to give Mr Han the last rites.

Today Mr Abbasi said he had not realised he had caught the man's last moments on his camera in such vivid detail until he looked at the photos later that night. 

'When I finally looked at them late that night, my heart started racing. It was terrible, seeing it happen all over again. I didn’t sleep at all. All I can hear is that man’s head against that train: Boom! Boom! Boom!'

Taken in: Suspect Naeem Davis, pictured, was arrested by NYPD officers Tuesday afternoon in Times Square, blocks away from the 49th Street station

Taken in: Suspect Naeem Davis, pictured, was arrested by NYPD officers Tuesday afternoon in Times Square, blocks away from the 49th Street station

Occupational hazard: Davis worked at a nearby deli, sources said

Occupational hazard: Davis worked at a nearby deli, sources said

When the New York Post ran the terrifying photo and story Mr Abbasi explained in an interview that he was racing towards the oncoming train firing off his flash in a desperate attempt to get the driver to slow down.

He told the New York Post: 'I just started running, running, hoping that the driver could see my flash.'

The photographer described seeing Mr Han being crushed 'like a rag doll'.

Controversial: Tuesday's New York Post cover

Controversial: Tuesday's New York Post cover

He added: 'Out of the periphery of my eye, I just saw a body flying, flying through the air. People started waving their hands, anything they could find. They were shouting to the man in the tracks, “Get out! Get out of there!”'

Today the driver of the subway train which ran over Mr Han spoke of his desperate attempts to slam on the emergency breaks.

Motorman Terrence Legree said he saw Mr Han, but he could not stop the train before it crushed him.

'I saw the guy, and I did what I was trained to do,' he said. 'You’re hopeful you’re going to stop, but you don’t have control of the train at that point.'

Mr Legree said he rushed out of his control booth and tried to help the man wedged between the subway car and the platform.

'If someone can be saved, you have to do what you have to do,' he told the New York Daily News.

The New York Post has been strongly criticised for using the heart-stopping image on their front page.

'Even if you accept that that photographer and other bystanders did everything they could to try to save the man, it's a separate question of what the Post should have done with that photo,' Jeff Sonderman, a fellow at journalism think tank the Poynter Institute, wrote on the organization's website.

'All journalists we've seen talking about it online concluded the Post was wrong to use the photo, especially on its front page.'

'NY Post should be ashamed of its misuse of humanity for its cover photo of a man about to be killed by a subway train,' one person wrote on Twitter. 'When does cruelty end.'

'Snuff porn,' another user labeled it.

Meanwhile a passenger who witnessed a man being crushed by a subway train today spoke of his anger at the failure of 18 people on the platform to save him – including the photographer who had time to take chilling pictures of his final moments.

Patrick Gomez, who admitted that he also ‘froze’ at the scene, said it was a ‘real shame’ that no-one had the courage to ‘step up’ and attempt to rescue Mr Han.

Gomez, 37, said: 'People who were on the platform could have pulled him up but they didn't have the courage. They just didn't react like that.'

Suspect: The man who was 'emotionally disturbed'  witnesses said before he pushed Mr Han into the path of an oncoming train

Suspect: The man who was 'emotionally disturbed' witnesses said before he pushed Mr Han into the path of an oncoming train

And he reserved his strongest criticism for photographer R. Umar Abbasi, who shot the chilling photograph of Mr Han watching as the subway train barreled towards him in the final moments.

The image appeared on the front page of the New York Post this morning with the headline 'Doomed'. The 58-year-old can be seen looking at the train with his arms outstretched he tries to heave himself out of its path.

Mr Gomez spoke for millions who expressed their outrage today at the commuters on the Times Square platform who witnessed the man being pushed in front of the train but did not try to pull him to safety.

Many had moved away from an argument which was taking place between Mr Han and his suspected attacker, just moments before the fatal incident at around 12.30pm on Monday afternoon.

The two men were seen arguing before the victim (left) was 'pushed' to his death

Build-up: The two men were seen on CCTV arguing before the victim (left) was 'pushed' to his death

The 'pushing suspect' (right) was described as 'emotionally disturbed'

Argument: Mr Han (seen left) and Mr Davis had a heated exchange before Mr Davis pushed 'drunk' Mr Han onto the tracks

It came as the man suspected of pushing Mr Han was arrested on Tuesday afternoon.

The 30-year-old suspect who believed to havee pushed the father-of-one to his death confessed to the crime, it was revealed Tuesday.

Naeem Davis, who was arrested outside of Times Square Tuesday afternoon, admitted the crime to NYPD officers, sources told the New York Post.

Sources also said that Davis works as a street vendor and lives in Queens.

Speaking to MailOnline, Mr Gomez admitted that he had not helped because he had not seen the initial scuffle between Mr Han and his attacker and was confused about what was happening.

Mr Gomez, a 37-year-old sanitation manager from Saddle Brook, New Jersey, said: 'I was at the north end of the platform, so about 30ft away from where he went onto the track.

'The first thing I knew something was wrong when I heard people screaming and screeching. Then the train was coming in and I heard a thud, like it was hitting something.

'I'd say the guy was on the rails for between 30 and 45 seconds trying to get up before he was hit.

'I didn't know what had happened. It could have been a terrorist attack, I just didn't know what to do and I just stood there. Before the impact I saw some people running up the stairs to where they sell Metrocards, but they were running away from the scene.

'The cops turned up within minutes and started evacuating people and that's when I left'.

Mr Gomez had wondered why the photographer didn't help rather than take pictures.

He said: 'I didn't see the photographer but I gather he was at the southern end of the platform taking pictures as the train was coming in. If he had enough time to take pictures, why didn't he help? It's kind of sad. He's been saying he was flashing the driver to get his attention but that's just not credible.

'He's just saying that because we're scrutinizing him'.

He added: 'I think it was the time of day that was a factor. It was 12.30pm and there were not a lot of people on the platform as it is a local stop. Some of them were tourists too.

VIDEO: Photographer defends his actions on subway platform

VIDEO: Argument before the man is 'pushed' to his death

'I'd say eight were elderly or were women and might not have been able to help the guy off the track. Had they done so we might have had a double tragedy. It was pandemonium, I think people just panicked'.

Not a lot of people were on the platform... I'd say eight were elderly or were women and might not have been able to help the guy off the track. Had they done so, we might have had a double tragedy. 

-Witness Patrick Gomez
 

Twitter lit up with criticism about Mr Han's horrifying death. Chris Cuomo, ABC 20/20 anchor, wrote on Twitter: 'Man pushed onto subway tracks. Some wave at train to stop, others take pics of man. No one goes to help him? What am I missing?'

ABC producer Micah Grimes added: 'HOW ABOUT HELP THE GUY OUT!?'

Nick Confessore, a political reporter for The New York Times, called Mr Hun 'the Kitty Genovese of our time' - referring to a Queens woman whose murder was witnessed by neighbors in 1964 and yet they did not call the police.

Dr Laura Kaplan, 27,  a second-year resident at Beth Israel Medical Center, told how people were shouting and yelling when the tragedy happened but were running in the other direction.

After Mr Han was fatally struck by the train, she said she used her stethoscope and heard what she thought were heart sounds, but he never took a breath.

Another passenger reported seeing blood coming from Mr Han's mouth and said it had been impossible to give him CPR.

Mr Abbasi added: 'The most painful part was I could see him getting closer to the edge. He was getting so close. And people were running toward him and the train.

'As I was running toward the train, the man I believe pushed him ran the other way, and I heard him say, "Goddamn motherf--ker." Fatal fall: Police inside 49th Street station, where Mr Han died

Fatal fall: Police inside 49th Street station, where Mr Han died

'I didn’t think about [the attacker] until after. In that moment, I just wanted to warn the train — to try and save a life.'

Questions have been raised about the photographer's decision to snap pictures of the grim moment and of the newspaper's decision to splash them across the front page with the words: 'Pushed on the subway tracks this man is about to die.'

Larry King wrote: 'Did @NYPost go to far?' while others dubbed it 'gratuitous, not news' and 'sickening rubber-necking'.

Mr Han, a father-of-one, was crushed to death after being hurled onto the tracks by a crazed panhandler who had been harassing people waiting on the platform at Times Square station.

Tragedy: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, pictured with City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, called Monday's events a 'tragedy'

Tragedy: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, pictured with City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, called Monday's events a 'tragedy'

There have been varying reports that there was a dispute between the men. This video, on Nbcnewyork.com, shows the alleged attacker shouting: 'Leave me the f**k alone. Take your m*********ing a** over there, stand in line, wait for the R train, that's it.'

The New York Post quoted 'law-enforcement sources' as saying Mr Han had been trying to calm the man down before being attacked.

'He went up and tried to calm him down, saying, ‘You’re scaring people, The emotionally disturbed guy just started screaming and cursing, saying, ‘You don’t know me! You don’t know who I am!'

Police said that after being thrown onto the tracks Mr Han had barely missed being electrocuted on the third rail and looked stunned as he sat up with the train bearing down on him.

He then scrambled to his feet and tried in vain to clamber back onto the platform.

One witness reported seeing him being dragged 10 to 15 feet before the train finally came to a halt.

Terror: The NYPD guard the entrance to the subway in Times Square after a 58-year-old man was pushed on to the tracks by a stranger Terror: The NYPD guard the entrance to the subway in Times Square after a 58-year-old man was pushed on to the tracks by a stranger

Mr Han, who lived with his wife and daughter in Elmhurst, was taken to Roosevelt Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

A neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: 'He lived in this part of Queens for a couple of years. He used to take out the trash in the morning, have a smoke. He was a very nice man. It's every New Yorker's nightmare, some crazy guy on the subway.'

Another neighbor, who has lived in the area for 15 years, recalled Mr Han as a friendly man who worked hard on his home and was always ready with a 'good morning' or 'good day.'

She said: 'So many people don't want to talk to each other. I came here from Russia in '49.

'I love America this is my home but this poor man, so polite, he spoke a little English, he took his time with it. He was a good man trying to help and look at what happened. Nobody here can believe it.'

Mr Han was unemployed according to his wife, who spoke briefly to the Korean Courier.

Horror: Commuters watched aghast as a man fell onto the tracks at 49th Street and was then hit by a train

Horror: Commuters watched aghast as a man fell onto the tracks at 49th Street and was then hit by a train

Mrs Han, who has a college-age daughter, was said to be shocked and distraught as she left the couple's red-brick, low-rise home in Queens last night. A pair of men's trainers sat discarded in the front garden.

His wife said she had argued with her husband, who had been drinking, before he left the house at around 11am and headed into Manhattan.

She said she tried calling him several times in an attempt to calm him down but he did not pick up her calls. One witness claimed Mr Han had been the aggressor and authorities reportedly found a bottle of vodka on his body afterward.

Mrs Han and her daughter have been staying with the family pastor since the trauma of identifying Mt Han's body. According to the family pastor, both women have been all but silent since receiving the devastating news, unable to articulate their grief.

They are struggling to make funeral arrangements and angered by reports that the couple argued before Mr Han lefty the family home for the final time, saying this has been misreported.

Fear: The commuter who died did not appear to know the man who pushed him into the path of an oncoming train

Fear: The commuter who died did not appear to know the man who pushed him into the path of an oncoming train

The attacker, who is described as black, 30 to 40 years old, about 5-foot-9, with short dreadlocks and wearing a white T-shirt, dark jacket, filthy jeans, black sneakers with a white stripe and a black beanie cap, collected his paper cup full of change before running out of the station’s exit on 47th Street.

The fire department said that two people who witnessed the man's gruesome death had to be treated for trauma.

The station is located just off 7th Avenue in midtown and has four tracks and two platforms.

The train’s operator was taken from the station in a wheelchair, wearing an oxygen mask and was treated for shock.

VIDEO: Photographer defends his actions on the Today show

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VIDEO: Moment NYC subway suspect is taken away by police

 

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