August 28, 1991 in New York history

๐Ÿ“ On This Day ๐Ÿ“

32 years ago on August 28th, 1991

A drunken subway operator derails a '4' Train at Union Square just after midnight, killing five people and injuring 121

It became one of the deadliest crashes in the subway's history.

The train needed to make a switch from the express tracks to the local before it entered Union Square station, but Robert E. Ray entered the switch going nearly 50mph, derailing the train and slamming it into steel support beams and the tunnel wall. Despite being close to a station platform, the crumpled train and low clearance in the tunnel made it difficult to extract injured passengers, and the total rescue took three hours.

Ray was sentenced for five counts of second-degree manslaughter and assault after the investigation showed he was intoxicated and had fallen asleep, causing the crash. He was released from prison in 2002.


References:

๐ŸŒŽ World History ๐ŸŒ

Library of Congress  •  New York Times  •  BBC  •  Wikipedia


๐ŸŒž Weather Records ๐ŸŒž

Record High: 100ยฐF in 1948
Record Low: 50ยฐF in 1885


← August 27   Today   August 29 →
Calendar   Random

Comments

Your email address will remain private, but will be used to display your Gravatar icon if available.
Plain text and emojis may be used but there is a limit of 150 words.