On Camera, Indian-Origin Woman, Friend Crushed To Death By Subway Train In New York

An Indian-origin woman and her Nepali-American friend were crushed to death by an oncoming train at a subway station in New York, apparently after one of them fell onto the tracks and the other jumped off the platform to help, according to American media reports. 

The victims, both 24, were identified as Malaika Chitre, a resident of Dayton in New Jersey, and Navam Kaul of Sayreville in New Jersey, the New York Daily News reported. 

Both Chitre and Kaul had attended Rutgers University together. A horrifying video of the incident has emerged online that shows the woman laughing and pulling the man toward her before an approaching train runs over them at a lower Manhattan subway station. The accident reportedly involved a downtown number 4 train operating on the local tracks inside the Spring St. station. 

COUPLE REFUSE TO MOVE as TRAIN BEARS DOWN on MANHATTAN SUBWAY TRACKS — BOTH KILLED pic.twitter.com/MdDKSbnOL9

— RT (@RT_com) September 13, 2026

It remains unclear who fell on the track first, but Kaul and Chitre died at the spot, and their bodies were recovered from under the third and fourth cars of the train, according to a report by the New York Daily News. 

However, quoting law enforcement sources, the New York Post reported that Kaul may have fallen on the track first or made his way onto the tracks inside the Spring Street subway, prompting Chitre to go down to help him.

Police said they were notified of the accident at 3:14 am Sunday after the train was unable to stop in time. Around 100 passengers were reportedly aboard at the time of the incident, and they were evacuated onto the platform.

About the Victims

The New York Daily News reported that Kaul had attended the Rutgers Business School in New Brunswick from fall 2020 to spring 2024. However, he had not received a degree. Chitre, on the other hand, completed her Bachelor of Science degree in May 2024 from Rutgers-New Brunswick School of Arts and Sciences.

Their LinkedIn profiles showed that Chitre worked as an operations specialist at Acadia Pharmaceuticals, while Kaul was a financial data analyst at Bloomberg.

"We are saddened to learn of the tragic death of these two former students," said Dory Devlin, assistant vice president of news and media relations at Rutgers.