Man wanted for bashing rider after he was hit by train surrenders to police
A man who police say knocked a straphanger unconscious and watched an oncoming train hit his victim’s head — and then punched him once again — has surrendered to cops.
Benjamin Gonzalez, 24, and another man are suspected of punching Francis Michael Christie in the head once on a Union Square subway platform at about 2:50 a.m. on Dec. 16, according to prosecutors.
Christie, 41, was knocked to the ground, with his head hanging over the ledge in the attack, according to a criminal complaint.
An oncoming Q train slammed into his head immediately after Christie fell, shattering his skull.
Gonzalez then pulled Christie back from the ledge and hit him in the head again, prosecutors charge.
Gonzalez, of Queens, and the other suspect, who has not been identified, were caught on video surveillance inside the subway station following the attack, officials said.
Gonzalez turned himself in Wednesday, authorities said.
He was charged with assault and reckless endangerment at his arraignment, court records show. Gonzalez appears to have been released after posting $75,000 bail.
His lawyer, Arthur Gershfeld, could not immediately be reached for comment or for information on the second alleged attacker, who is described only as an Asian man.
Christie, an artist who lives in Flatbush, Brooklyn, remains at Bellevue Hospital.
His mother, Joy Wells, on Sunday hailed the arrest.
“I was elated,” she said. “I figured in New York there are 8 million people, they’ll never find him. I didn’t think there would be an arrest for a very long time.”
Initially, she couldn’t believe the news.
“(The detectives) just told me they made an arrest, and after that my mind kinda went blank,” the La Junta, Colo., woman said.
On Friday, her son was moved from the intensive care unit into a rehab unit as his condition slowly improves, she said.
“He’s up walking some,” the 65-year-old Wells said. “They’ve had him going up some steps. But he’s still not talking.”
She remains hopeful that he will make a full recovery.
“He didn’t have his phone for three weeks,” she said.
“He wanted his phone and they took it to him, and he remembered the password.”
She talked with her son a few days before the attack.
He was excited about an upcoming art show in Greenpoint. He would be displaying several new pieces, some of them created with a new chrome pen.
“I was excited for him,” she recalled. “I couldn’t wait ’til he called me after the show to see how people reacted to his work.”
Source:- http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/man-wanted-sadistic-subway-attack-surrenders-police-article-1.3743188
