A mentally ill woman who shoved a female straphanger into the side of a moving train during morning rush hour in Times Square will serve 12 years in state prison after pleading guilty to the unprovoked attack, prosecutors announced Thursday.
Anthonia Egegbara, 32, forcefully pushed her victim into the violent path of a northbound 3 train at the 42nd Street subway station in October 2021, shocking video of the scene shows.
The victim, then-42-year-old New Jersey resident Lenny Javier, survived the attack but sustained several injuries, including a broken arm that required surgery.
Egegbera, who has been held without bail at Rikers Island since her arrest, had faced up to 25 years on an attempted murder charge. Terms of the deal call for her to cop to the lesser rap of first-degree assault.
“Today Anthonia Egegbara was held accountable for pushing a stranger into an oncoming train during morning rush hour in a completely unprovoked attack,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.
“Our transit system should be a safe environment for all Manhattanites, and we will continue prosecuting those who jeopardize the safety of its commuters, riders and workers.”
Egegbara’s history of violence had already raised concerns before her attack on Javier. Just three months earlier, she had been released without bail after assaulting Jasmine Robles on the A train around 1 a.m., leaving her victim with a broken nose, bloody eye, knocked out tooth and severe PTSD.
The two random incidents have fueled ongoing controversy regarding the city’s bail reform policies.
“You can’t just let a mentally disturbed person with a rap sheet back out into the public,” Robles told the Post in 2021 after learning that Egegbara had assaulted another innocent traingoer.
“They say the system failed her. The system failed me three months ago.”
Egegbara’s sentencing date is set for Sept. 19.
Javier has also filed a lawsuit accusing the city and state of “negligently” failing to prevent the attack. The suit in Manhattan federal court argues that the episode never would have happened had officials installed safety barriers at the edge of the subway platform.
The case is still pending.
