What Happens To Your Body If You Die In The NYC Subway?

Transit workers must act fast when a body appears on a New York City subway.Act fast.Get trains moving and reduce the number of people seeing the body. Move bodies quickly to a non-public room until authorities arrive. This rapid process means bodies often go into the nearest space. MTA workers frequently bag corpses and place them in bathrooms, break rooms, and lunchrooms used by MTA staff.

Many Metro Transit Authority (MTA) workers have faced issues over the years.Workers have had the unfortunate experience of finding a dead body. Workers often walk into bathrooms or break rooms and find a corpse. MTA workers report feeling traumatized by this.Workers feel trauma stumbling upon dead bodies. MTA workers walk into bathrooms or break rooms and find corpses.LeShawn Jones, an MTA station worker, shared a brutal experience.Jones spoke in an interview with Business Insider.

LeShawn Jones, an MTA station worker, shared this.A controversy started in August 2017.The body of a man killed on a subway was stored in an out-of-service bathroom on a subway platform. It was the nearest available non-public space. Commuters worried about sharing the platform with a body. People feared the heat caused the corpse to decompose fast during the 30 minutes it took medical professionals to arrive. A maintenance worker later cleaned the bathroom where the body was stored.Business InsiderJones entered the employee bathroom at a Harlem subway stop and found a body. The scene was gruesome; she saw hair, scalp, and other body parts in the sink. Jones said, “That can totally mess with your psyche, not just for that day but for the future as well.”

There is a logical reason for the procedures used to remove corpses. Follow the rules when a body is found. The New York police department must confirm the death was not a homicide, and a medical examiner must examine the corpse to find the cause of death.August 2017A man killed on the subway was stored in a bathroom on a platform. This was the closest non-public space. Commuters worried about sharing the platform with a body. Intense heat caused the corpse to decompose fast during the 30 minutes until medics arrived. A maintenance worker later cleaned the bathroom.

Authorities can take along timeAuthorities take different amounts of time to arrive based on the day. Medical examiners usually take about two hours to respond. On busy days, response times stretch even longer. The body cannot leave the storage spot until a medical professional examines it.

MTA workers have major worries about storage practices.There is a risk of contamination.Corpses are often inbad shapeBlood and body parts often spill in the room where a corpse is kept. This practice risks spreading disease, especially since bodies are sometimes stored in lunchrooms near food.

There is alogical reasonfor procedures removing corpses. Workers must follow rules when a body is found. The New York police department must check the death was not a homicide, and a medical examiner must examine the corpse to find the cause of death.

Moving bodies too much messes up investigations. So, bodies go to the nearest open spot. This means MTA workers often handle corpses in inconvenient places for unknown times.

Subway deaths are a problem.Subway deaths happen more often than people guess. In 2016, 48 people died in New York City subways. This number was the lowest in five years. Since subway deaths occur often, corpse storage is a big worry for MTA workers.Subway deaths happen more often than people guess. In 2016, 48 people were killed by New York City subways. This number was the lowest it had been in five years. Subway deaths happen often, so corpse storage is a major concern for MTA workers.

A problem stems from a lack of communication.There is a lack of communicationMTA workers do not communicate. Workers often miss updates about recent subway deaths. If a worker arrives after a body is bagged and removed, they might not know a corpse is in a break room or bathroom. They do not realize they must avoid that area until police arrive.

An disagreement exists between the MTA and Transit Workers Union.An MTA spokesmanAn MTA spokesman released an official statement about the corpse storage fight in August 2017. The spokesman said storing bodies wherever space existed was necessary. He claimed emergency response time was usually fast.

However, the Transit Workers Union disagreed. They stated it often takes hours for authorities to arrive. They argued the MTA must change body removal rules for MTA workers.

New York City saw 48 people killed by MTA subways.Subways struck people in 2016.Forty-eight people died in 2016. This number was lower than in the five years before. Five years earlier, 58 people died in 2014, mostly due to Pokémon Go's popularity. People die most often in subway accidents when struck on the platform. Other ways people die include suicide attempts and falling between cars.