What to Know
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The MTA says someone has made a habit of pulling the emergency brakes on subways at the worst possible time: the height of rush hour
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Thousands of riders have already been delayed by the culprit or culprits who sneak off sometime after bringing trains to a halt
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The wrongdoer is breaking into the operator’s car with keys and pulling that brake, the MTA said
The MTA says someone has made a habit of pulling the emergency brakes on subways at the worst possible time: the height of rush hour.
Thousands of riders have already been delayed by the culprit or culprits who sneak off sometime after bringing trains to a halt, surfing on the back of the cars and getting away via tunnels. They have not been caught.
On Tuesday, a northbound 2 train had its brake pulled during rush hour, but the MTA says whoever is intentionally ruining riders commutes may have been at it for a while now. Complaints from riders on Twitter about a pulled emergency brake go back months.
“It’s stupid. It’s stupid and selfish, and we intend to nail them,” said New York City Transit President Andy Byford.
The emergency brakes being activated are not the ones that all commuters have access to. The wrongdoer is breaking into the operator’s car with keys and pulling that brake, the MTA said. The transit authority has not shared how they believe the offender may have gotten the keys.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea says they will investigate as reckless endangerment. “This poses a danger and a risk to people,” Shea said.
The MTA kept initial reports of the brake-pulling scheme quiet so as to avoid copycats, but are now seeking the public’s help to bring the disruptive act to a halt.
The investigation is ongoing.
Source : Nbcnewyork
