In New York City, New York, police are looking for five people after someone had rolled their Citi Bike into the path of two subway trains during the weekend.
For those not aware, Citi Bike is a public bike-sharing system that services the following areas:
- The Bronx
- Brooklyn
- Manhattan
- Queens
- Jersey City
- Hoboken
What Happened
Witnesses told reporters and investigators that four men and a woman had gathered together at the Steinway Street Subway Station in Queens on Sunday. At least one of the men was spotted by surveillance cameras.
He was seen chucking an entire bike from down the street and it landed all the way down into the mezzanine. Shortly after, there was a southbound R train that reported running over this electric bike, and it appeared to explode.
Causing massive sparks to fly, and almost looking like something out of a movie, some footage was posted on social media:
From the video, you can clearly see an explosion taking place, with lots of sparks and smoke. You can even see a few pedestrians running and fleeing out of fear.
Later on, an MTA spokesperson verified that another R train struck the bike. In total, these two R trains had to enable their emergency brakes, disrupting the time-sensitive plans of all commuters. According to the police, this bike stunt caused significant damages to the train.
Luckily, no injuries or fatalities were reported, but someone could have easily been seriously harmed and injured by the exploding bike.
In a statement issued by MTA spokesperson Tim Minton on Tuesday, Tim reported:
"This was an attack on all of New York City that took place in the transit system and the miscreants who threw that bike in the path of an oncoming train should be prosecuted for their reckless disregard for safety of subway riders and workers."
Police have since released the images of the people they are looking for:
If you have any information, you can call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
Parting Thoughts
Here's to hoping that further incidents like this don't occur. New York City commuters deserve safety and happiness during their daily commute. They don't need exploding bikes to cause further distress to these trying times.