PHOTO: The last second of life

Seems so callous to me to say, "Too bad, so sad" to a potential suicide.

 

Uh...not necessarily.

 

The fear of being pushed from the platform is something all subway-riding New Yorkers share. So the photo isn't merely gory or titillating, it's cautionary. Good argument can be made to run it.

 

Only this wasn't a suicide.

 

I think the calculus of trying to save someone on the tracks is always the same: how far away from the station is the next train? It's a practical differentiation, not a moral one.

 

This case also calls up memories of the Andrew Goldstein case.

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2000-05-05/news/18137528_1_kendra-webdale-mentally-andrew-goldstein

 

First and foremost you guys are correct: I do not know that for fact.

Just trying to look at that photo and gauge the possibilities with the fact that he did snap his flash (who knows how many times).

I am in no way blaming the photog. But I do wonder how many times he triggered the flash and how many seconds that added up to and if he at all wondered about running to the edge. Would I run to the edge? It all depends on the timing. If I thought the train was 5 to 10 seconds away, yes. But if that train is 1 second away there's nothing I -- or anyone -- could have done.

Interesting that no one is in that vicinity but you have that huge crowd in the yonder waiting for the train to stop.

 

I could not life the live weight of someone from that height who was not trying as well.

 

Yes. My fear would be that the guy struggles as you're struggling to pull him up but he ends up pulling you down to the tracks and then two people are dead.

 

Speaking of the cover:

 

Arriving or starting would give me an idea of the speed of the train. They might be able to stop if the train was coming from a stop, but going to a stop, I don't think they can stop short so quickly.

If he was trying to get up, I would try to help him. I would also be very careful not to loose my arms in the process and be sure he did not pull me down...

Ugh... I just thought about the person pulling me down.

 

It's nearly impossible in NYC to get hit by a subway leaving a station.

But depending on the line, a train will enter the station at +/- 25 mph.