Husband of ‘instantly paralyzed’ NYC subway shove victim issues ‘crucial’ plea to Mayor Adams
May 24, 2023
The woman shoved against the side of a moving train by a stranger was left “instantly paralyzed” by the unprovoked attack, prosecutors said Wednesday — as her husband issued a desperate plea for the city to prioritize safety on the subways.
Ferdi Ozsoy, 37, said the near-fatal assault on his wife, Emine Ozsoy, 35, at a subway station in “the heart of Manhattan” on Sunday “underscores the pressing need for improvement within the MTA.”
“It is crucial for the mayor [Eric Adams] to recognize that prioritizing the safety and security of the city’s residents is vital for their well being-and prosperity,” Ferdi said in a statement.
“We must ensure the ability to safeguard individuals, including loved ones like my wife,” he said.
His wife was on her way to work around 6 a.m. May 21 when her alleged attacker, Kamal Semrade, 39, suddenly pushed her head against a departing subway car at the Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street station on the Upper East Side.
Emine was “instantly paralyzed” from the neck down, prosecutors said in Manhattan Criminal Court at Semrade’s arraignment early Wednesday on charges of attempted murder and assault.
“The defendant grabbed her head with both hands and shoved her with all his force into the moving subway,” Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Carolyn McGuigan told the court.
“The victim hit the train and her face and head rolled along it. [She] then crashed back to the platform where she was instantly paralyzed.”
Emine, who works as an illustrator and employee at a café, was left clinging to life, with a cervical spine fracture, broken fingers and damage to four blood vessels, the prosecutor said.
The ordeal has left her husband reeling and remembering happier times with his wife, who moved to the Big Apple from Turkey in 2017.
Ozsoy
was on her way to work when her alleged attacker, Kamal Semrade,
suddenly pushed her head against a departing subway car at the Lexington
Avenue and 63rd Street station.
“The first time we were walking in Manhattan after arriving here, we were walking on the sidewalk and I asked her what she thought,” Ferdi said of his wife.
“She said, ‘I can think for myself. The sidewalks are so big I don’t have to worry about anything that will happen to me. I have time to think for myself instead of worry about what’s happening around me.'”
Emine wanted to “build a community in NYC, where she could recognize local people’s faces,” prompting her to work at a café, Ferdi said.
Ferdi Ozsoy, 37, said the near-fatal assault on his wife “underscores the pressing need for improvement within the MTA.”
“Her boss told me this story. When he first interviewed her, her English wasn’t that great. He told her that and said it’s not going to be easy to communicate with customers. ‘You give me the chance to prove myself and I will show you,’ she said,” according to her husband.
“She has met many challenges head-on. She is a person who has strength, who has resolve, who is determined,” he continued.
“And all of that was taken from her!”
MTA Chairman Janno Lieber called the incident “horrific” Wednesday and said, “it’s exactly why we’ve pushed more cops into the system and why we have cameras in the system.”
He said subway cameras identified Semrade, who is being held without bail in the case, from three different angles.
“We want to see the book thrown at this guy, whoever he is, whatever his motivation,” Lieber told The Post.
“We need our riders to know that those kinds of people are going to suffer the maximum consequences if they do something like that.”
No comments:
Post a Comment