Tragic Incident on the F Train

A tense scene unfolded on the F train as several passengers found themselves gripped by fear when a distressed man, later identified as Jordan Neely, discarded his jacket and loudly proclaimed his hunger, expressing a chilling indifference towards life and death. One woman, overwhelmed by the situation, buried her head against a friend’s chest, fervently praying for the subway doors to open and provide an escape.

A journalist in his 50s described his reaction, stating that he immediately shifted into “alert mode” as Neely continued his erratic rants in the half-filled subway car. However, the atmosphere took a drastic turn when Daniel Penny, a 26-year-old former Marine, intervened by seizing Neely and applying a chokehold. This action ignited a wave of concern among some passengers, who began to fear for Neely’s safety amidst the escalating chaos.

Witness accounts and a 911 call played in Manhattan Supreme Court on Monday revealed the harrowing nature of the incident. During the call, a woman pleaded with Penny, exclaiming, “He’s dying. You got to let him go.” Her urgent warning underscored the gravity of the situation, raising alarms about Neely’s deteriorating condition.

This testimony occurred on the second day of the trial for Daniel Penny, who is facing serious charges including second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. Prosecutors have accused him of causing Neely’s death on the afternoon of May 1, 2023, while both men were aboard the uptown F train en route to the Broadway-Lafayette Street station in Manhattan. Penny, who was reportedly on his way to the gym to continue his studies in architecture, has maintained that his actions were a defensive response to protect other passengers on the train. However, prosecutors argue that his actions crossed a line into criminality when he failed to release Neely even after he had gone limp.