Man Killed By 'A' Train at 14th Street Trying to Get Cellphone Updated July 22, 2011 6:14pm

A man was struck and killed by a train at the 14th Street A train station July 22, 2011 trying to retrieve his cellphone. (DNAinfo/Andrea Swalec)

By Andrea Swalec and Tom Liddy

DNAinfo Staff

CHELSEA — A Queens man was struck and killed by a subway train in Chelsea after he jumped on the tracks trying to get his cellphone, police sources said.

The 60-year-old man, whose name was not released, hopped down onto the tracks at the 14th Street station, at Eighth Avenue at 3:20 p.m. trying to retrieve his phone, according to the sources.

He was then struck by a southbound A train.

A police source said that the man "didn't realize how close the train was."  The source said the man was standing close to the entrance of the tunnel.

Witness Christopher Carrillo, 25, a student from Queens, said that he turned his head and saw a man on the tracks before the fatal collision.

"I saw an officer pick up a phone [after the accident]," he said. "They said the man dropped his phone."

The MTA said that the Brooklyn-bound A train was rerouted over the C line from 59th Street/Columbus Circle to Canal Street during the investigation.