Toronto construction worker, Jordan Dallard, was trying to get home last Friday night when an unexpected horror occurred.
“I was walking extremely close to the track. I should not have been so close,” Dallard recounted.
He was inside the Bloor-Yonge subway station making his way down the subway platform. At the time, Dallard was holding a box with a microwave he had just purchased. He described the station as “extremely congested” referring to the crowds of people around him. He admitted to walking on the yellow line alongside the tracks in attempt to get around others.
Dallard said he approached one man who wouldn’t let him pass despite repeated requests. “He just wouldn’t respond,” he said, then the corner of the box Dallard was carrying “nudged” the man.
“At that point, he turned around very disgruntled. He said, ‘Are you f***ing kidding me?’ and he pushed me back onto the track.”
“It happened extremely quickly,” said Dallard. “I remember vividly hearing many people screaming. All I remember is them trying to help me… throwing their arms out (for him).”
“I didn’t realize as I was getting to my feet, a train was coming into the station,” said Dallard.
He said he tried grabbing people’s hands but missed, so he grabbed onto the edge of the platform when the train struck him.
Dallard said he clung as firmly as he could to the wall of the platform as the train pushed against him. “It was very painful, but when you go into shock you don’t feel the pain immediately,” he said.
When the train stopped, bystanders immediately went to Dallard and helped him off the tracks. He was taken to the hospital where he was treated for several injuries, most of them being to the left side of his body.
“Doctors said that this was the first time that they have been able to have a face-to-face conversation and have the patient respond that has been hit by a train,” said Dallard. He suffered a ripped tendon and tissue damage to his knee, among his injuries.
“I joke around and I say I have nine lives because I’ve had quite a few near-misses in my life, but that by far was the closest near-miss,” said Dallard, adding that he is “lucky to be alive.”
Police released a surveillance photo on Wednesday of the suspect who allegedly pushed Dallard onto the tracks. On Thursday, Tasho Shipinkas, 26, turned himself in to the authorities. He has since been charged with aggravated assault. Shipinkas is scheduled to appear in court this Friday.
Dallard said he is worried about finances and supporting his two children. Since the incident, he has not been able to return to work since his job requires operating heavy equipment.
Dallard wants subway users to be careful when walking along the platforms. “Don’t go too close. That yellow strip is there for a reason.”
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