EMT with the FDNY here. It happens all the time – especially in Manhattan. There’s your classic hit and splatter, which sounds like what happened here. Then there’s your “space case” which is where they get wedged in between the subway car and the platform. Usually it’s because they dropped something on the tracks, jumped down, and didn’t realize how high the platform actually is. So they try to get up on the platform, and they can’t, and the train winds up coming and depending on how big the space is will either cut them in half or wedge them between the car and platform. Then, you have your “screw driver” which is the same as the space case, except the top half of the body stays in the same direction, and the waist/legs twist around and around as the subway car pulls the body down the side of the platform. This is actually a scenario that is practiced jointly between EMS and Fire at the academy – they have a fake subway track at the FDNY Academy on Randall’s Island that they mimic this with.
Theodore Lee is the editor of Caveman Circus. He strives for self-improvement in all areas of his life, except his candy consumption, where he remains a champion gummy worm enthusiast. When not writing about mindfulness or living in integrity, you can find him hiding giant bags of sour patch kids under the bed.