Subway saboteur may be up to the frequency of his strikes
Police on Thursday released a photo of the brake-lifting system that has been disrupting subways during rush hour – causing more than 700 commute-crushing delays since February alone.
The image shows the rail reprobate casually hanging out of the back of a subway car emblazoned across it.
The transit troublemaker climbed onto the back of the northbound no. . 2 train at around 5:45 pm Tuesday at the 14th Street Station near Seventh Avenue – then the rails for several stops before the emergency brake and fleeing, cops said early Thursday. [Say] Police say the subway saboteur has hit the brake on about 40 trains – mostly on the 2/5 line in Brooklyn ̵[ads1]1; and MTA officials say the antics have impacted tens of thousands of commuters since February.
A source told the news site Jalopnik the number of delays and cancellations stood at about 750.
And he may have been inexplicably triggered on the 2/5 line at Nevins Street in Brooklyn, one of his favorite areas – at around 11:30 am
"Northbound 5 trains are running on the 2 line from Nevins St to 149 was automatically activated at Nevins St, the agency tweeted .
The MTA could not say whether the incident was investigated as part of the pattern. 002] Each time the braker strikes, he uses the same MO – he climbs on the back of a train, unlatches a safety chain and then uses a MTA-issued master key to crack open a "storm through" leading into the train operator's cabin which is empty because the operator rides the front of the train.
Once inside, he pulls an emergency brake lever – causing the train to come to a screeching stop that can send passengers tumbling – before scampering off into the darkness, Officials said,
And he may be up to the frequency of his strikes, according to police.
"We believe it started in February and continued in March and increased in frequency in April and May," police said. 19659002] Last week, he managed to single-handedly cripple two trains within two minutes of one another in a Brooklyn station, according to incident reports shared with The Post.
At 9:10 pm on May 15, he climbed aboard a southbound no. 2 train at Brooklyn's Winthrop Street Station, unlatched security chains on the back car and popped open the storm by to gain entry to an empty cab, where it pulled the emergency brake before scampering off.
While the train's conductor and motor man were scratching The heads were over the stop, the rogue was tearing over to the northbound train at the same station – which he held at 9:12 pm, records show.
Regular service resumed about 10 minutes later, but the damage was done.
Two days later, he struck again at 5:51 pm, managing to sabotage a northbound no. 2 train operated by the same driver and conductor who were onboard during the May 15 incident – this time all the way up on 116th Street in Harlem, incident reports show.
5 train at President Street in Brooklyn at 4:21 pm on May 8, leading to delays on the 2, 3, 4 and 5 lines just as people were getting out of work that Wednesday evening.
Police have stepped up patrols in response to incidents and are deploying 25 extra officers to patrol the subways for any sign of the suspect or any other offenders.
But even if he's busted, he probably will face only misdemeanor charges of reckless endangerment and obstruction of government administration, police sources said. carry a maximum sentence of one year in jail or three years probation, along with a possible $ 1,000 fine.
"It's up to the police, and it depends on the specific facts they get on," a source familiar with the investigation said. "At least some of the cases, he's using keys."
NYC Transit chief Andy Byford on Wednesday pledged of any possible violators: "We're going to hunt them down. We intend to nail them. ”
Additional reporting by Stephanie Pagones
