Man Slapped With 8-Year Sentence For Pushing Woman In Front Of Subway Train

A man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for pushing a woman in front of an oncoming subway train at Union Square, New York two years ago.

The accused, 26-year-old Aditya Vemulapati, reportedly waited for a train to enter the Union Square subway station on Nov. 19, 2020, before mounting the fatal attack. As he saw the train enter the station, he then ran up behind the 40-year-old victim, Liliana Sagbaicela, a woman he did not know, and randomly pushed her in front of the oncoming train to kill her, New York Post reported.

The victim landed between the tracks and miraculously survived the incident. Even though several train cars passed over her, she survived the incident with minor injuries and no broken bones. However, she needed eight stitches on her head after the attack.

Transit workers and firefighters ultimately rescued her from the track and she was rushed to a nearby hospital for immediate treatment. The horrifying incident was captured on video.

In the footage, Vemulapati can be seen darting across the platform and shoving the unsuspecting victim onto the tracks as the train approached. The people on the platform who witnessed the attack can be seen reacting in horror and disbelief in the video.

According to the authorities, Vemulapati, who was homeless at the time of the attack, was arrested moments after the incident. When questioned by the authorities, he confessed to trying to kill the woman. Vemulapati, who has been in jail since the incident, pleaded guilty in June 2022 to one count of second-degree attempted murder, Daily News reported.

Following this, Vemulapati was sentenced on Thursday, Aug. 4, to eight years in jail followed by five years of supervised release.

"Today's sentence makes clear that we will hold accountable those who cause harm in our subway system," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said. "We will remain focused on those who harm straphangers just trying to commute to home or to work."

Even though the victim was not in court for the sentencing, Vemulapati apologized to her anyway.

According to the statistics provided by NYPD, transit crime was up nearly 41% in June 2022 compared to the same time in 2021.