Newsman: A teen girl has been arrested on charges after two people operated and crashed an empty subway in Queens, according to the NYPD. Two people are accused of going for an underground joy ride .Cops are still searching for her accomplice, a male who helped her take control of the subway just after midnight on Sept. 12 at the Briarwood subway station, police said. The two hopped onto an unoccupied train, operated it, and then crashed it, causing damage to the subway, according to the NYPD. Demetrius Crichlow, interim president of New York City Transit said, the train was moved roughly 50 feet.
The theft of the train unfolded amid the deployment of additional police officers to the nation’s largest subway system to combat a surge in crime. New York Governor Kathy Hochul deployed 1,000 state workers, including 250 state police troopers and MTA Police members, to assist the NYPD in enhanced baggage checks at heavily trafficked areas of the subway system. Kathy Hochul even deployed National Guard troops as part of a five-point plan to protect subway riders.
“There’s no question it was an extremely foolish and reckless act by two individuals accessing live track in order to get access to our train,” Demetrius Crichlow, interim president of New York City Transit, said at a news conference Wednesday morning to announce a proposed five-year, $68.4 billion capital improvement plan for the 100-year-old Metropolitan Transit Authority system.
The 17-year-old suspect, whose name was not released, was arrested Wednesday afternoon and charged with first-degree criminal mischief and first-degree reckless endangerment, according to the New York Police Department.
The suspect in custody is alleged to be the thief captured on the security camera dressed all in pink, including a pink shower cap, according to police.
The second suspect, a man, remained at large, police said. He was described by police as having a slim build and light complexion. He was dressed in a blue tank top, red shorts and carrying a black backpack.
According to a New York Police Department incident report, the thieves, a man and a woman, stole the empty, out-of-service train just after midnight on Sept. 12 at the Briarwood subway station in the borough of Queens, according to police.
“These two individuals entered an unoccupied train and operated it, causing a collision and damage to the train,” according to the NYPD incident report.
No injuries were reported and the suspects fled the area on foot, according to police.
It was at least the second theft of a New York City subway train in less than eight months.
On Dec. 30, 2023, a group stole two out-of-service trains parked in a restricted area near the Forest Hills-71st Avenue subway station in Queens. Authorities said the group entered the operators’ compartments of two lead train cars before driving them short distances northbound.
Police are searching for the other after they say the duo tried to operate a subway train — but, ultimately crashed.
New video, released by the NYPD, shows two people — a man and a woman — in a dark subway car in Queens last week. The woman is wearing an all-pink outfit, complete with a pink shower cap. The man’s in a blue tank top and red athletic shorts.
The video only shows the two walking through the car … but, cops say they then tried to play conductor — getting the subway to move about 50 feet before crashing it.
Cops announced they’ve arrested the woman in the clip … taking her into custody Wednesday. They say she’s 17 years old and they’ve charged her with first-degree criminal mischief and first-degree reckless endangerment. Police say they’re still looking for the dude in the tank top and shorts.
