By Alicia Cruz
The Black Urban Times
A New York City Transit supervisor was killed Monday when he slipped on a wet track on the elevated A line train tracks electrocuting himself.
The 4:30 a.m. accident occurred at the Beach 90th Street Station in Rockaway Beach Queens as James Knell, 45, was replacing track panels.
Although Knell's death has been deemed an accident, NYC Transit has launched an investigation to "determine a cause and to ensure we prevent a recurrence," said NYC Transit President Tom Prendergast.
Knell, of East Rockaway, LI, had been an employee of the NYC Transit Authority for 13 years and was part of the crew working on a station rehab project.
“We lost one of our own this morning and labeling this incident a tragedy is a painful statement of the obvious,” Prendergast told the New York Post.
John Samuelson, president of Transport Workers Union Local 100 who said he had worked together with Knell in the past, argued that no transit worker should be near a third rail while it rained.
"Nobody should be working near a live third rail while its raining or wet. You can clearly be killed," he said.
Samuelson said the third rail was turned off while employees worked, but it was re-energized at the end of the job to run a test train. Jimmy then went back on the tracks to retrieve a bucket. It was wet, and he slipped and fell onto the third rail. "
Water and an electrified third rail don't mix well," said Samuelson, who added that he would seek a rule change so that this "will not happen again."
Knell, the first transit worker to die on the job in three years, is survived by his wife and two step-children.
Service on the A was temporarily suspended after the accident. MTA officials arranged shuttle buses for commuters during the morning rush from the Beach 67th Street Station.
The Black Urban Times
A New York City Transit supervisor was killed Monday when he slipped on a wet track on the elevated A line train tracks electrocuting himself.
The 4:30 a.m. accident occurred at the Beach 90th Street Station in Rockaway Beach Queens as James Knell, 45, was replacing track panels.
Although Knell's death has been deemed an accident, NYC Transit has launched an investigation to "determine a cause and to ensure we prevent a recurrence," said NYC Transit President Tom Prendergast.
Knell, of East Rockaway, LI, had been an employee of the NYC Transit Authority for 13 years and was part of the crew working on a station rehab project.
“We lost one of our own this morning and labeling this incident a tragedy is a painful statement of the obvious,” Prendergast told the New York Post.
John Samuelson, president of Transport Workers Union Local 100 who said he had worked together with Knell in the past, argued that no transit worker should be near a third rail while it rained.
"Nobody should be working near a live third rail while its raining or wet. You can clearly be killed," he said.
Samuelson said the third rail was turned off while employees worked, but it was re-energized at the end of the job to run a test train. Jimmy then went back on the tracks to retrieve a bucket. It was wet, and he slipped and fell onto the third rail. "
Water and an electrified third rail don't mix well," said Samuelson, who added that he would seek a rule change so that this "will not happen again."
Knell, the first transit worker to die on the job in three years, is survived by his wife and two step-children.
Service on the A was temporarily suspended after the accident. MTA officials arranged shuttle buses for commuters during the morning rush from the Beach 67th Street Station.
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