A Queens straphanger’s repeated attempts to jump a turnstile ended in death when he flipped over and landed on his back, disturbing video shows.
Police believe Christopher De La Cruz’s neck was broken in the Sunday morning accident, though an autopsy will determine his exact cause of death.
De La Cruz, 28, was on his way to work when he died, police said.
His father, Jose De La Cruz, was crestfallen.
“What can I say?” the father lamented. “He did a mistake.”
His son was the father of a 4-year-old boy.
“He was a nice guy,” the father said. “He was a good father.”
De La Cruz was found unconscious about 6:45 a.m. on Sunday inside the Forest Hills-71st Ave. subway station in Forest Hills, police said.
Medics pronounced him dead at the scene — and now surveillance video obtained by the Daily News shows his final moments.
De La Cruz, wearing a backpack on his shoulders, tried upward of a dozen times to jump over the turnstile, stumbling on his very first attempt, then repeatedly failing to get his feet over the turnstile bar.
He appeared to be unsteady on his feet, and police said he had been drinking.
Finally, he loses control, his waist striking the bar, causing him to flip over and land on his back on the concrete floor.
[via New York Daily News]