Man Dies After Jumping On Subway Tracks To Avoid Cops

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A 19-year-old man died Monday afternoon after jumping into the tracks of an Upper East Side subway station in an attempt to evade police officers, an NYPD spokesman told Patch.

Shawn Jackson was suspected of robbing a newsstand on Lexington Avenue and 57th Street around 3 p.m. Monday, an NYPD spokesman said. Police officers patrolling in the area observed Jackson entering the subway at Lexington Avenue and East 59th Street, the spokesman told Patch.

When a northbound express train Jackson had boarded was held in the station, he jumped into the tracks to avoid arrest, an NYPD spokesman said. While on the tracks Jackson made contact with the electrified third rail, which killed him, police said. (For more New York City news delivered straight to your inbox sign up for Patch's free newsletters and breaking news alerts).

The NYPD spokesman told Patch that officers pursuing Jackson did not chase him onto the track.

"We were not chasing him," the spokesman said. "We stopped the train in the station and he jumped from the platform."

Jackson was pronounced dead on the scene, police said.

Photo by Patch