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Man Dies After Being Pushed in Front of Train at 49th Street, Officials Say

By DNAinfo Staff | December 3, 2012 1:24pm | Updated on December 3, 2012 10:12pm

MIDTOWN — A man was struck and killed by a Q train Monday after he was pushed onto the tracks at the 49th Street station, officials said.

Witnesses said the victim and another man appeared to be arguing right before one shoved the other onto the tracks at the station, which is located at Seventh Avenue, just after 12:30 p.m. A train pulled in moments later, crushing the victim and leaving long streaks of blood on the platform, witnesses said.

The man who was struck — identified by police as Ki-Suck Han, 58, an Elmhurst resident — was rushed to St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

On Monday evening, police were searching for the suspect, who was captured in a cellphone video yelling at someone on the train platform [Warning: Video contains explicit language].

"Leave me the f--- alone," the suspect shouted in the video. "Take your motherf---ing ass over there, get in line, wait for the R train, that's it."

Police described the suspect as a man with dreadlocks, last seen wearing a dark jacket, a gray T-shirt and a cap. 

A commuter who was on the platform when the incident happened said the train came to an abrupt halt before it was all the way inside the station.

"You heard almost like a thud," said Patrick Gomez, 37, of Saddle Brook, N.J. "You heard people yelling, people running out... People were just standing in shock."

Gomez saw the victim on a stretcher as emergency responders worked to revive him.

William Van Alstyne, 32, who lives in Brownsville, said he saw "a 5-to-10-foot trail of blood" on the platform after the victim's body had been removed.

Other witnesses said they saw the two men having a dispute on the platform just before the horrific incident.

"There was an argument," said a witness, who declined to give his name. "It was all so quick... You could see the train coming...while he was on the tracks."

Investigators were still on the scene for hours after the incident. Two people who witnessed the collision were being treated at the scene for trauma, an FDNY spokesman said.

The N, Q and R train lines that run through the station were experiencing delays, but full service resumed early Monday evening, according to the MTA website.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).  The public can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.  All calls are strictly confidential.

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story included police reports that the man was hit by an R train. Subsequent information revealed it was a Q train.