A Manhattan-based artist tragically died after he was struck by an oncoming train inside an Upper East Side station.
Authorities say Alexander Gardega, 48, was standing near the tracks located at the 77th Street 6 train station in Lenox Hill around 6:30 p.m. Thursday when the deadly incident took place.
It is believed the man had either fallen from the platform or was standing on the edge of the tracks at the time he was struck.
Alexander Gardega, 48, was fatally struck by a train at a station in Upper East Side Manhattan
Police say Gardega was standing at the tracks located at the 77th Street 6 train station in Lenox Hill around 6:30 p.m. Thursday when the incident happened
Alexander Gardega was criticized for this statue of a dog appearing to urinate on the Fearless Girl statue which now stands in the Financial District
The operator of the train, James Muñoz, 46, told the New York Daily News the emergency brakes kicked in at the time the train was about 100 feet from the entrance.
When the train stopped, Muñoz said he found Gardega’s body ‘between the seventh train car and the maintenance catwalk that runs along the tracks,’ the report said.
Gerdega’s loved ones said the artist was ‘brilliant and passionate’ and ‘loved to provoke reactions from people with his work.’
After the iconic ‘Fearless Girl’ statue was erected in the financial district, Gerdega was said to be responsible for placing the sculpture of a urinating dog next to it.
It is believed Gardeda (left) had either fallen from the platform or was standing on the edge of the tracks at the time he was struck
In a separate train station fatality this week, an unidentified individual was struck by the B train at 42nd Street at the Bryant Park/Fifth Avenue station in New York.
Officials said the incident happened around 3 p.m., while it was also unclear as to how the person got in front of the train.
‘B train service was suspended in both directions after the incident and uptown D trains were running along the C line from West 4th Street to 59th Street-Columbus Circle,’ dnainfo.com reported.
The victim was immediately pronounced dead at the scene, an MTA spokesperson and police confirmed.
MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz told the New York-based news site there are ‘various public information campaigns warning customers to stay away from platform edges.’
Still, according to the most recent report, 48 people were fatally struck by subways in the year 2016, making it the ‘lowest year-end total in five years.’