Man pleads guilty in caught-on-camera NYC subway shove that woman miraculously survived

ByEyewitness News WABC logo

Friday, June 10, 2022

Man pleads guilty to attempted murder in subway push

Aditya Vemulapati will be sentenced to eight years in prison, along with five years post release supervision.

UNION SQUARE, Manhattan (WABC) -- A man who pushed a woman in front of an oncoming subway train in an unprovoked attack at the Union Square station in 2020 pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree attempted murder.

Aditya Vemulapati will be sentenced to eight years in prison, along with five years post release supervision.

The horrific incident was caught on camera, showing the victim, a woman in her 40s, standing on the platform around 8:30 a.m. on November 19, 2020.

Vemulapati waited for a train to enter the station and then ran up behind the woman, a stranger to him, and pushed her in front of the oncoming train.

(Previous coverage in video player above)

She landed between the tracks before several train cars passed over her, but amazingly, she survived with only minor injuries.

She was rescued from under the train by firefighters and was treated at the hospital after an MTA worker radioed for help.

Another transit worker who witnessed the shove jumped into action and held Vemulapati until police arrived.

"New Yorkers deserve to feel safe traveling on the subway," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said. "Aditya Vemulapati attempted to kill a stranger for no apparent reason, pushing her onto the subway tracks. Today, he is being held accountable for his actions."

ALSO READ | Suspect 'didn't realize his strength' when he threw woman onto subway tracks: Police