A personal attack whilst out on the street minding our own business is something a lot of us fear. With reports constantly in the news about such things, the worry will always be in the back of our minds. My mum always warns me not to walk alone in derelict areas, or even in the city centre, especially after dark.
TV shows like the BBC programme, Crime Watch, also make us fear for our safety even when in our own homes. Nowadays we are told to keep the doors locked, and not to open them unless we know the person at the door.
In the twenty-first century it’s a shame that we have to live by such safety regulations. Back in the fifties I’m told it was safe to go out, and leave your door unlocked, never mind the windows. Today we are warned that it’s not even safe to keep those open due to the rise in burglaries.
With all of this panic that surrounds us everyday, what would we do if we were to suffer such an attack. A report in the New York Daily News shows how a man was pushed off the edge of a subway platform and landed, face first on the railway.
Andy Morris, 44, is lucky to be alive after he was pushed from a platform at Broadway Junction station, in Brooklyn. Mr Morris was badly burned when he landed on the 625 volt rail. Witnesses say that his whole body shocked, and that smoke came from his head as he hit the rail.
Witnesses say that an argument began between Mr Morris and two other men, on the Queens-bound carriage. The argument is then said to have spilled from the carriage, onto the platform attracting on-lookers. Mr Morris, who was apparently drunk at the time, was then pushed off the platform. Police believe that it may have been one of the on-lookers that pushed him.
Marlon Probherbs, 23, of Brooklyn, told the New York Daily News: “I just heard a commotion, then I saw him go flying off the platform and he went face-first onto the third rail. He first started twitching and then you started seeing smoke coming from his head. You could smell the flesh burning. I can’t believe he made it, I thought he was dead.”
Mr Morris who recently lost his construction job and lives in a homeless shelter in East New York, fears that he may not be able to work again because his hands are badly burned.
Although Mr Morris is lucky to be alive, this malicious attack may have ruined the rest of his working life. Hopefully police will track down the person who did this to him, however for the time being he may be entitled to compensation.
