Aspiring artist, 23, loses both her legs when she is run over by seven carriages of a New York subway train in a horrific accident – but her life is saved by her pink top
- Visaya Hoffie fell onto train tracks at 14 Street Station about 4am on January 11
- The 23-year-old was then run over by seven carriages of New York subway train
- Her bright pink sweater alerted the engine driver of a second oncoming train
- Ms Hoffie had to have both her legs amputated following the horrific ordeal
- She also suffered other injuries and is monitored every half-hour by doctors
- The artist’s survival has been described as a ‘miracle’ as she continues to fight
Visaya Hoffie fell onto the train tracks at 14 Street Station (pictured at the same station)
An Australian artist has lost her legs after she was run over by a New York subway train’s seven carriages.
Visaya Hoffie was visiting a friend from Brisbane who was studying in New York when she was run over by a train after tripping onto the subway tracks at 14 Street station about 4am on January 11.
The 23-year-old was unconscious on the tracks for about 20 minutes before a second train approached.
Luckily, the driver caught sight of her pink sweater and brought the train to a halt.
Visaya suffered multiple head wounds, a C2 vertebral fracture, a sheared vertebral artery, a skull depression and associated cuts and wounds as well as having both her lower legs amputated.
Despite all the injuries, she does not show any evidence of brain damage and is off life support.
Her mother Pat Hoffie is at her bedside in New York.
‘It’s difficult at the moment,’ Mrs Hoffie told The Courier Mail from beside her daughter.
‘But we are in the best possible medical home but we just have to put our heads together and work through it.
‘We’re in the middle of a very trying time.’
Ms Hoffie shared a photo of her daughter just moments before the horrific incident in her pink sweater.
‘The bright pink colour of her top is what alerted the engine driver of the second train to the fact that someone was lying across the track,’ Visaya’s mother Pat Hoffie wrote on Facebook
Despite all the injuries, Visaya (pictured) does not show any evidence of brain damage and is off life support
‘The bright pink colour of her top is what alerted the engine driver of the second train to the fact that someone was lying across the track,’ she wrote.
‘In the words of the investigating police, ”it’s a miracle she survived”.
‘Please pray that she continues to survive and to heal and to come home.’
Visaya is currently being supported by the Australian government while hospitalised in New York
On Wednesday, Visaya underwent further ‘corrective amputation’ on her left leg and is taking aspirin to avoid the risk of blood clotting
On Wednesday, Visaya underwent further ‘corrective amputation’ on her left leg and is taking aspirin to avoid the risk of blood clotting.
She is also constantly being monitored for a pseudoaneurysm in the femoral artery leading into her brain by the neck brace she will have to wear for several months.
Since the traumatic incident, the stitches in Visaya’s face have been removed but the staples in her skull are expected to remain for ‘some time’.
As she remains in hospital, Visaya is being checked up on by doctors and nurses every half-hour.
‘There is not a second to spare.’
Mrs Hoffie has asked for her daughter’s privacy to be respected as she continues to heal and deal with her traumatic injuries
Mrs Hoffie has asked for her daughter’s privacy to be respected as she continues to heal and deal with her traumatic injuries.
The family are currently being supported by the Australian government, the publication reported.
‘The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to an Australian woman in the United States,’ a DFAT statement said.
‘Owing to our privacy obligations we will not provide further comment.’