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Bronx woman killed by No. 6 subway train after passing out and falling on tracks
BY Kerry Wills, Kerry Burke, Whitney Evans and Joe Kemp
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Thursday, June 2nd 2011, 4:00 AM
A Bronx woman fainted on a Manhattan subway platform and tumbled to her death in front of a train Wednesday afternoon, police said.
A rerouted northbound No. 6 was pulling into the Lexington Ave. and E. 77th St. station and was unable to stop before hitting Fatoumata Diallo about 3:10p.m., police and witnesses said.
The 21-year-old woman died at the scene. It was not clear why she passed out.
"It all happened so fast," said witness Theresa Lee, 52, who was in the front car of the train and saw the woman drop to the tracks.
"There was nothing anybody could do to help," said Lee, who was on her way to teach a piano lesson.
"It was just heartbreaking," she said tearfully. "I've never seen anything like that in my life. I started crying really hard."
Lee was taken to Lenox Hill Hospital across the street and treated for emotional trauma.
Diallo's cousin Marrie Diallo said the Mamou, Guinea, native has fainted before.
"But it wasn't a recurring thing," the 18-year-old said. "She fainted a couple of months ago, but we weren't sure why. Everyone thinks it's the heat."
She said the Borough of Manhattan Community College student just celebrated her birthday last week.
"She was outgoing, loving," the cousin said, adding that her family moved to its Mount Hope apartment to pursue a better life.
"She was studying medicine," Diallo said of her cousin. "She wanted to be a doctor."
A straphanger said she was haunted by the faces of terrified onlookers on the humid platform after Diallo fell.
"It was terrible," said Claudia Ospina, 39. "I was in shock."
An MTA spokesman said local service was shut down for several hours, slowing the rush-hour commute for thousands of straphangers. The trains resumed a normal schedule about four hours later.
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I'd just like to say I was outside the 77th street station a few hours after this incident occured. The Entrance was blocked off and people were saying someone got hit & killed by a train.There was also a Van that Said "medical Examiner" parked outside the station. Two people came out of the Van a man and a woman and went down the stairs. There were also camera men at the top of the stairs with the word "crew" on the back of their shirts pointing their cameras towards the stairs & also some plain clothes officers to keep people from entering the station which was blocked off by police tape. I looked across the street and the uptown entrace was also blocked off with cops surrounding it to keep people from entering and they were also explaning that sevice was interrupted after a incident and they would have to walk to another station for subway service. "People were saying they're going to bring the body up" so being curious I decided to stay because I wanted to see them put the body into the van.
I was actually really close to the stairs right on the side of the entrance waiting for the body to come up then few minutes later uniformed cops came towards the stairs and started to tell peolpe to clear out so I got away from the stairs and stepped back a couple of feet. I'm still facing the direction of the stairs and waiting for the body to come up and minutes later I see the two people from the medical team emerge from the stairs carrying a short body wrapped in black towards their van. They moved quickly placed the body in the van quickly and drove off. I was sad because I have never seen death in real life before except for when I went to my grandmother's funeral over 10 years ago. The body Was so short and it just broke my heart to know a young woman had to die in such a tragic and horrific way. People were sayying she fainted likely because of the heat and she fell just as the train was approcahing the station so there was not even enough time for no one to go onto the tracks and try to save her.
When I look into her eyes of her beautiful face of the picture of her sitting in church I see a kind , loving , beautiful person.THis woman was in college studying medicine and wanted to become a doctor so she could help others. It isn't fair she died this way and so early.I ask god why he has allowed something so tragic to happen to such a good person only one week after her 21st birthday. I feel angry at god. She went to chruch she worshipped god and this is what she gets in return ? I didn't know her personally but I still care about others that are good people and as life goes on without her I feel terrible , sad and depressed. I feel sad that this world has lost another great person that could have made a difference and the World will not be the same without her. I cried tears for her when I came home read the news, saw her picture, read about the good person she was and then the flashback in my head of the Medical Team bringing her tiny covered up body into the van.
I pray to god that something like this NEVER happens to a good person ever again and I pray for her friends and family through this diffucult time. Though I can pray no matter how much I pray it still doesn't change things.I'm not even sure if I believe in god Anymore because if god were real then why did he allow this beautiful wonderful young lady to die at such an early age?Praying... It's not going to bring her back she's gone and the sorrow of her death will be with me forever. THough this just happened Wednesday I don't think i'll ever forget it for as long as I live. I can imagine how terrible her family feels. I myself have not smiled or laughed since hearing about this. I watched my favorite show family guy and I didnt even laugh once. Nothing that I eat taste good anymore. I have been eating much less and I feel really depressed knowing that she died even though she is not my family and I didnt know her personally. But I respect her, the progress she had made in life and the desire she had to become a doctor so that she can help others.
She was a good person. She didnt deserve to die & It wasn't her time to go. I wish I were her boyfriend. I would have been there with her at the subway station and she would have never fainted, and even if she did faint she would have fainted and fell into my arms not onto the tracks. Shes only 21 and wasn't supposed to die this early. The old saying comes into my head "only the good die young", but why?Maybe attending her funeral or even just being outside the funeral house and paying my respects to her would make me feel better but I dont know any information yet about the funeral or if there will even be one. Why do good people have to die young? It isnt fair. I think I may need some counseling to help me feel better because I don't think I have ever felt this sad & depressed in my entire life....
R.I.P. Fatoumata Diallo
