In a tragic turn of events, an on-duty MTA track worker lost his life in a mishap involving a subway train in Midtown Manhattan. The incident occurred just south of the 34 St-Herald Square station shortly before 12:15 a.m. on an overnight shift.

The victim, identified as 57-year-old Hilarion Joseph, was a valued member of a cleaning crew responsible for maintaining the tracks. Tragically, he came into contact with a slow-moving northbound D train and was subsequently dragged. The train was reportedly traveling at a speed of approximately 10 mph during the scheduled maintenance.

Joseph, who had been with the agency for nearly a year, was fulfilling the role of a flagger on the track work crew. As a flagger, his primary responsibility was to alert oncoming trains to track work further ahead. However, the circumstances surrounding the incident remain uncertain. NYC Transit President Rich Davey stated, "Whether there was not enough clearance, whether he stumbled, we don't know, but obviously, a flagger should under any circumstance, shouldn't be coming into contact with the train."

The news of this tragedy has left the MTA community in mourning. Officials from the agency expressed their deep condolences to Joseph's family. "Our folks were at the hospital last night, with the worker's family, obviously they are very much in our thoughts right now. It's a difficult morning, most of all, for those of us close to our colleague," said NYC Transit President Rich Davey.

In response to this devastating incident, the MTA has committed to refreshing and retraining its employees on protocols related to track safety. The perilous nature of the job is not lost on John Chiarello, TWU Safety Director, who emphasized the inherent risks associated with working on live train traffic. "We have an inherent risk in the job because we are on the tracks doing work on the live train traffic, it doesn't get more dangerous than that," he stated.

This tragic event marks the first MTA worker fatality on the job since 2020 when a worker lost their life while evacuating a burning drain during an arson fire. Furthermore, in 2018, another track worker was killed after falling and hitting their head while clearing debris.

The MTA and its employees are now grappling with the loss of a valued member of their team. The incident serves as a stark reminder of the dangers faced by those tasked with crucial track maintenance work. As investigations continue, the MTA community mourns the loss of Hilarion Joseph and vows to strengthen safety measures to prevent similar tragedies in the future.