An investigation is now underway after an MTA worker was killed on the job Thursday night after she was struck by a train.<\/p>\n
It happened near the 161st Street-Yankee Stadium subway stop.<\/p>\n
The MTA says Moet McCullum, 41, was working as a construction flagger, tasked with notifying passing trains that workers were on the subway tracks.<\/p>\n
She was on the tracks near River and East 161st streets when she was struck by a D train just after 11:30 p.m., officials say. McCullum was rushed to a local hospital, where she later died.<\/p>\n
TWU Local 100 leadership said at a briefing Friday that workers inside the train and on the tracks were both in compliance; the D train was given the go-ahead to proceed on the tracks before McCullum was fatally struck.<\/p>\n
It remains unclear what led to the miscommunication.<\/p>\n
“At transit, it is a big family, and so, you know, to lose one, it hurts at its core,” MTA President Demetrius Crichlow said.<\/p>\n
The incident is now under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, the New York City Transit Joint Safety Task Force and the Local 100 safety team.<\/p>\n
“We will work with every agency to find the cause of this tragic accident,” TWU Local 100 President John Chiarello said. “And not only was a life lost, but the train crew that were involved will be traumatized for the rest of their lives by this absolute nightmare. Our hearts go out to them.”<\/p>\n
McCullum had only been on the job for about 11 months, the MTA says. She leaves behind three children, her mother and a twin sister. McCullum’s sister is an MTA conductor with 10 years on the job.<\/p>\n