New York City Crime: Subway dispute over dropped phone turns deadly in Jackson Heights, Queens

JACKSON HEIGHTS, Queens (WABC) — A 50-year-old man is in custody after a fight with another subway rider ended with the man being fatally struck by a train in Elmhurst, Queens.

The suspect was standing near the platform of the Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Ave station. on Monday around 4:45 p.m. when 48-year-old Heriberto Quintana bumped into him as he walked by.

The contact sent the suspect’s cell phone onto the subway tracks.

The suspect told the victim to go get his phone. He refused and the two began arguing in Spanish.

A push and fight ensued, culminating in the victim falling onto the subway tracks, where he was hit by an F train leaving the station.

Quintana, of Queens, was pronounced dead at Elmhurst Hospital.

The indictment against the 50-year-old suspect is pending.

It was the ninth homicide on the city’s subway this year, and the 10th on transit.

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