Long Island Teen Killed on Birthday by Oncoming Train

John Mitty Thursday, March 28, 2013

Liam Armstrong, a Long Island teen celebrating his 18^th birthday, was commuting downtown with his friends when he tragically was killed by a northbound No. 2 express train at the 79^th St. Station downtown in Manhattan.  As you might expect, he didn’t get struck by coincidence.  There is no way to get hit by a commuter train in the subway unless you step out onto the tracks.  Armstrong and his friends found themselves on the uptown side of the station, needing to reach the downtown side of the station.  Instead of using the proper route to reach the downtown side, they dared each other to cross the tracks instead. 

All of Armstrong’s friends made it across in time, but Armstrong was crossing when an express train was coming down the tracks.  Express trains do not slow down or stop; they go straight through the stations.  He was unable to get out of the way on time, and the train hit him.  The conductor spotted the teen, but was unable to stop the train fast enough.  At 6:30, Armstrong was struck and killed.  Armstrong had a liter of rum in his backpack along with two fake IDs.  While his death was an accident, it was a senseless one that would never have occurred had he been behaving responsibly.  After several hours of delay, businesspersons and other commuters on the rail were able to resume their trips home.

jmitty@longislandyellowpages.com

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