I got there shortly after they'd finished evacuating everyone, so apart from a huge number emergency crews standing around there was little to see. Except for this chick walking down the road dressed as a clown hahaha! Welcome to
Queens.
This is the 13th subway derailment in the last 20 years. The last one happened in
Harlem last year, also in May. They are generally a non-event, but in 1991 a huge derailment beneath
Union Square killed five people and injured another couple hundred. The driver of that train was intoxicated, and took a track switch with a 10mph speed limit at 40mph instead. I forget where I read this now but the driver apparently left the scene of the wreck, walked along the rails to
Union Square station, left the station, bought himself a drink or a sandwich or something from a nearby store, plonked himself on a bench in Union Square, and waited to be arrested hehe.
He was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 15 years in the slammer.