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Man accused of shoving woman into NYC subway train
Published: Saturday, 14 Aug 2010 | 1:29 PM ET
NEW YORK - A man abruptly pushed a woman into the side of a moving New York City subway train, then told bystanders he couldn't explain his behavior, authorities said.
The German-born woman was hit but survived. Jose Rojas, 25, was held without bail after his arraignment Thursday on attempted murder and assault charges, while victim Ute Linhart, a fashion industry executive, was hospitalized with broken ribs, a crushed sinus cavity and other injuries.
Rojas menaced another man on a Manhattan subway platform Wednesday night before walking up to Linhart, according to a court complaint. Then she was suddenly shoved forcefully into a northbound train rushing into the 28th Street station, the complaint said. The impact hurled her back toward the platform.
"As the impact happened, I'm thinking, 'I'm going to be dead,'" Linhart, 39, told the New York Post. "Then I realized that I was in so much pain, I couldn't possibly be dead." Bystanders stopped Rojas from running away, and he told them: "I don't know why I pushed her," the court complaint said.
Linhart, the creative director of a company that designs T-shirts and other merchandise for musicians, told the Post she'll never take the subway again. Rojas is due back in court Tuesday. If convicted, he could face up to 25 years in prison.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
