MANHATTAN — A suicidal man lying across the tracks south of West 14th Street disrupted service on the 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 lines during the Thursday morning rush, officials said.
The man, whose name and age weren't immediately released, had wandered through the subway tunnels to lie down on the express tracks between 14th Street and Christopher Street, trying to touch the third rail about 8 a.m., an MTA spokeswoman said.
A straphanger tweeted a video of what appears to show a person walking next to the tracks, as well as photos of that person lying down next to the tracks.
Man walking towards @MTA 2/3 subway - our train slammed on breaks to avoid hitting him #nycsubway #MTA pic.twitter.com/MDEhTGW1UK
— Casie Jordan 👩🏻💻 (@kcavery) August 10, 2017
Man on @mta subway track -stopped uptown 2/3 train -he was laying down then got up & sat on tracks feet from 1st train car #nycsubway pic.twitter.com/B3XUWH6WqO
— Casie Jordan 👩🏻💻 (@kcavery) August 10, 2017
The MTA couldn't immediately confirm that the person shown in the video and photos was the same man.
Officials turned off power and the man was taken into custody, the spokeswoman said.
The man didn't appear to be injured, but was taken to Bellevue Hospital, an NYPD spokesman said.
Regular service resumed after some suspensions, but delays stretched across the 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 lines, officials said.
“We commend the train and police personnel who got this trespasser removed safely and thank our customers for their patience during the ordeal," said MTA spokesman Shams Tarek.
Riders complained of delays and crowded platforms.
