Artist instantly paralyzed after being shoved into moving subway train, New York prosecutor says

A Turkish-born artist who moved to New York six years ago was instantly paralyzed from the neck down after a man allegedly pushed him onto a moving subway train in what a prosecutor said Wednesday. “Completely unprovoked” attack.

Kamal Semrad, 39, was charged with attempted second-degree murder and other crimes in Sunday’s alleged attack at a subway station on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, according to a criminal complaint filed in New York Criminal Court. was NBC New York.

The 35-year-old victim suffered a fractured cervical spine, a laceration to the skull and other injuries when Simred “grabbed her head with both hands and pushed her with all his might into the moving subway car,” she said. Assistant District Attorney Carolyn McGuigan said during Semrad’s arraignment Wednesday.

In a verified online fundraiser organized in part by her husband, the victim was identified as Ayman Yilmaz Ozsoy.

She was immediately paralyzed and remains in critical condition with a high risk of death or paralysis, McGuigan said.

McGuigan said the attack at the Lexington Avenue and East 63rd Street station happened at 6:05 a.m. and was captured on security cameras and witnessed by witnesses.

Özsoy, a former front page designer at an Istanbul newspaper, moved to New York City in 2017 and wanted to focus on her art, her husband said in a written statement posted to the fundraiser. She said she was on her way to work at the time.

McGuigan said he and Samred were on the same train and got off in Manhattan.

Simread chased her — then pushed her — into the train as it left the station “rapidly,” McGuigan said.

“I just see him walking next to him, to his left, and shaking his head as he walks toward the train with his palms open,” eyewitness Nancy Marrero told NBC New York.

Marrero told the station that her body “fell in a circle and she just fell on the platform.”

McGuigan said Semrad fled the station. Marrero said, as Ozvi lay on the subway platform, she said she couldn’t feel her arm and asked if she was going to die, according to NBC New York.

“I was like, ‘You’re not going to die,’ don’t worry, I’m here,” Marrero told the station. “I’ll be with you.”

The New York Police Department took Samred into custody on Tuesday, court records show.

In the statement, Ozsoy’s husband, Ferdi Ozsoy, thanked authorities and those who comforted his wife after the alleged attack. He said he had a difficult surgery at Weill Cornell Medical Center and expected a “long journey of recovery” that would likely put a damper on his career as an award-winning painter, illustrator and artist. Established as a painter.

Freddie Ozoy described himself as his wife’s only family in the United States and said he was seeking emergency visas for relatives to help care for her.

“Her life after that will require constant care,” he said.

An attorney for Simred, who was detained during Wednesday’s hearing, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday night. His next court appearance is scheduled for Friday.