Elderly Veteran's Life Hangs in Balance After Vicious Subway Platform Attack
An 83-year-old US Air Force veteran might not survive after being violently shoved onto New York City subway tracks during what should have been a routine Sunday morning outing, according to his devastated family.
Sunday Morning Errands Turn to Nightmare
Richard Williams was enjoying his usual errands around 11:30am on Sunday in the Upper East Side when the alleged assailant, 34-year-old Bairon Hernandez, pushed the elderly man onto the tracks at the Lexington Avenue-63rd Street station. Williams had been waiting for the F and Q trains when the unprovoked attack occurred.
Just moments before targeting Williams, Hernandez had sent another man, 30-year-old John Rodriguez, flying onto the train tracks, according to the New York Police Department. In a remarkable act of courage, Rodriguez managed to help Williams off the tracks despite his own injuries, while bystanders guided both men back onto the platform just before a train came speeding into the station.
Family's Anguish and Gratitude
'We're wishing for a miracle right now,' Williams' eldest daughter, Debbie Williams, told the Daily Mail on Wednesday as her father remains on life support at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell. The family celebrated Williams' 55th wedding anniversary recently, and Debbie described her father as 'very healthy for an 83-year-old man' who enjoyed walking and reading.
Debbie expressed both profound gratitude toward Rodriguez and searing anger toward Hernandez. 'I would love to meet the man who saved him,' she said of Rodriguez. When asked about Hernandez's arrest, she stated bluntly: 'I hope he burns in hell.'
Survivor's Trauma and Investigation
Rodriguez, who suffered shoulder and neck injuries requiring an arm sling, told media he now experiences panic attacks at the thought of riding the subway again. 'I panicked, I started asking for help, not only for me but for the other man that was pushed,' he recounted of the terrifying incident.
Hernandez, originally from Honduras, fled the scene but was arrested early Tuesday morning at a shelter in Brooklyn after police received a tip. Authorities had posted images of Hernandez around the city and offered a $3,500 reward for information leading to his arrest. Dramatic footage recorded by Rodriguez after he was pushed showed Williams on the platform just before the suspect, seen standing next to him, shoved him onto the tracks.
Charges and Aftermath
Hernandez has been charged with attempted murder, attempted assault, assault, and reckless endangerment. Police confirmed that neither Williams nor Rodriguez knew their alleged attacker or each other before the random assault.
Williams' granddaughter, Samantha Loria, echoed the family's heartbreak, noting that her grandfather had survived previous hardships including a fire and cancer. 'The hardest part is I can't have a conversation or hug him again,' Loria told CBS New York. 'Any time I visit him, we walk around. He would always say hi to everyone, ask how they're doing. It doesn't hurt anything to be kind.'
Both victims suffered injuries from what police described as a vicious and random attack. Rodriguez revealed he also developed a fever following the traumatic incident. The timing proved tragically fortunate in one respect, as Loria noted: 'Thank God there wasn't a train coming.'
Williams, who previously worked making bulletproof equipment and lives on Roosevelt Island, is described by his family as an active, independent man who simply wanted to enjoy his daily walks. His daughter emphasized that her father was on his usual shopping spree 'like he always does' when the attack occurred. 'Now none of that is probably going to happen again,' she lamented.
