Manslaughter suspect admitted knocking stranger into path of oncoming Queens subway train, prosecutors say
A man charged with manslaughter for knocking a stranger into the path of an oncoming Queens subway train during a fight over a dropped cellphone was ordered held without bail after admitting to punching the victim, cops and prosecutors said.
Carlos Garcia is accused of punching 48-year-old Heriberto Quintana in the face, causing him to tumble off the F train platform at the Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Ave. station in Jackson Heights about 4:45 p.m. Monday.
Quintana was fatally struck by the train coming into the station. He was on his way to meet his wife Hilda Rojas and take her for dialysis treatment, his devastated family told the Daily News.
“I want justice for my husband,” Rojas told The News. “He took my husband’s life over a phone.”
Garcia, 50, was ordered held without bail during his arraignment in Queens Criminal Court late Tuesday. If convicted, he faces 15 years in prison.
According to court documents, Garcia admitted to “punching Quintana in the face causing him to fall onto the train tracks as train was approaching the subway station.”
Garcia’s admission was backed by witness statements and surveillance footage from the train platform.
Surveillance video viewed by The News shows Garcia at the platform’s yellow line as the train is pulling into the station.
Quintana, wearing a red baseball cap, accidentally bumped into him and Garcia dropped his cellphone onto the tracks, sparking an argument.
“Aren’t you going to get my phone?” Garcia barked at Quintana, according to police sources.
The video then shows the two men rolling around on the packed platform and tussling until Quintana fell onto the tracks and was struck by an oncoming train.
Two subway cars rolled over the victim before the motorman was able to stop the train, police said. Firefighters and EMTs performed CPR on Quintana, but he couldn’t be saved.
Cops in the station nabbed Garcia after horrified witnesses pointed him out as the man Quintana had been fighting with. He was charged with manslaughter and assault Tuesday.
Quintana, a Mexico native who worked in construction, had sons ages 14, 26 and 30 with Rojas, originally of Guatemala.
“He was a good father,” his son, Demsi Quintana, 14, said. “He was there for me and my family. He bumped [Garcia] by accident. It’s crazy. He killed him over a damn cellphone.”
Attempts to reach Garcia’s attorney for comment were unsuccessful Wednesday morning.
“The subway system is a vital lifeline for the millions of New Yorkers who depend on it,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said Wednesday. “The recent spate of violence on trains and in stations is a threat not only to commuters, but to the city’s economic and social vitality. The violence must end.”
