NY Post Cover Photo of Man Seconds Before Death-by-Train Sparks Outrage

Critics ask why photographer didn't help man; he says he tried to alert conductor

(Warning: Disturbing image below.)

The New York Post's front page is infamous for crass headlines and arresting images, but Tuesday morning's edition was a shocker: a shot of a man just before he was killed by a subway train.

New York PostThe picture, snapped by freelance photographer R. Umar Abbasi, shows Ki Suk Han, a 58-year-old Queens man, staring at the train seconds before it struck him. He was pushed onto the tracks by a man who remains at large.

The image — headlined "Pushed on the track, this man is about to die" and splashed with the bigger headline "DOOMED" — was roundly denounced by journalists, who took to Twitter to say it went too far.

"Sickening rubber-necking front page from the New York Post," Ian Prior, the Guardian's London-based sports editor, tweeted. "Imagine how this man's family feels."

Ethan Klapper, the Huffington Post's social media editor, refused to even link to the image.

"Not going to link directly to the 's grim front page," he tweeted. "It's a remarkable photo, but too gruesome for A1 I feel."

Many, like local ABC producer Micah Grimes, asked why Abbasi didn't help the man.

"HOW ABOUT HELP THE GUY OUT!?" he tweeted.

According to the Post story, Abbasi ran to the edge of the platform and repeatedly lit up his flash to warn the train conductor to stop — but it was too late.

“I just started running, running, hoping that the driver could see my flash,” Abbasi told the Post. The newspaper also included Abbasi's grim observation that the train crushed Han "like a rag doll.”

The Post did not immediately respond to calls from TheWrap for comment.

Comments