Man Jumps to Death Under Subway Train

A young man apparently bent on suicide leaped to his death in front of a subway train at Pershing Square on Friday afternoon in what officials said was the first fatality caused by one of the Red Line trains.

Described only as a Latino in his early 20s, the man had been standing alone on the underground platform near 5th and Hill streets when he jumped into the path of a westbound train traveling about 30 mph, the officials said.

The train made an emergency stop, but none of the 40 passengers on board reported injuries, said Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Bill Heard.

The incident disrupted the rush-hour commute for thousands of homeward-bound workers as subway service through the heart of the city was interrupted for 90 minutes.

Above ground, police cordoned off a section of 5th Street, a key westbound artery, clogging traffic for several blocks.

After interviewing the train operator and witnesses, detectives concluded that the death was a suicide, said LAPD Cmdr. Garrett Zimmon, who oversees transit security. “All the evidence makes it look that way,” he said.

The dead man was not immediately identified.

The train was outbound from downtown when it entered the Pershing Square station about 3:15 p.m., Heard said. Ten to 15 people were waiting on the platform, officials said.

As is customary, the train’s operator, Wayne Davis, a veteran MTA employee who worked the Blue Line light rail before switching to the Red Line subway three months ago, sounded the horn as he approached the station.

About a quarter of the way along the platform, Davis noticed a man moving toward the platform’s edge, Heard said.

“Because that was unusual, he began slowing down earlier than usual,” Heard said.

When the man dove toward the rails, the operator quickly applied the brakes and brought the four-car train to a halt. But by then the man was pinned under the train, Heard said.

In accordance with MTA policy, the train operator was expected to take a drug and alcohol test. A psychologist is available to counsel the operator.

The fatality is the first involving a patron of the subway, which has carried more than 50 million riders. Three workers were killed in separate incidents in 1997 while building the system.