Just two days after a music programmer survived being thrown to the subway tracks as a train barreled into the station, the 45-year-old victim was out of bed and able to walk, according to a friend’s social media post.
“Joseph Lynskey miraculously is doing okay and got up today to walk to the bathroom,” wrote Michael Bhagwandin on Facebook Thursday, calling the victim “a friend of mine and many of us.”
While Lynskey remains in Bellevue Hospital with a fractured skull, four broken ribs and a ruptured spleen, a GoFundMe raised more than $50,000 within three hours of being posted.
“Our friend, colleague, family member, and amazing human Joe Lynskey, was pushed in front of a NYC subway on New Year’s Eve day. Somehow, he miraculously survived, and we are all beyond thankful that he is still a part of our lives,” wrote friend and fellow DJ Jonjon Battles on the fundraising site.
Lynskey, 45, was nearly run over and killed by a No. 1 train at the W. 18th St. station in Chelsea about 1:40 p.m. Tuesday after being pushed by 23-year-old Kamel Hawkins, said cops and prosecutors.
Chilling video obtained by the Daily News of the surprise attack shows Lynskey standing just inside the turnstiles on the subway platform as a man in a black jacket walks past him. The man in black then spins around and lunges at the victim, appearing to deliberately push him onto the tracks with both hands outstretched.
Seconds later the train enters the station, passing right over Lynskey, who luckily fell into the trough between the tracks, incredibly escaping horrific injury, if not death.
Hawkins appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court Wednesday as the first defendant to be arraigned in the borough in 2025. He was charged with attempted murder and assault. Judge Steven Statsinger granted prosecutors’ request to hold Hawkins without bail.
Hawkins is due back in court Jan. 6.
Joseph Lynskey is the head of content and music programming for Gray V, a Manhattan-based entertainment agency that focuses on developing and curating background music playlists for different brands and businesses, including restaurants and hotels. He has been with the company for 12 years, according to his LinkedIn.
The victim’s brother told The News on Wednesday that Lynskey was alert, speaking and expected to fully recover.
“I just heard that somebody pushed him in front of train,” Christopher Lynskey said. “I can’t believe that even happened. Most of my family just landed in New York. We’re going to all be talking with him today.”
Lynskey’s condition has been upgraded from critical to stable while at Bellevue, but as his friend Battles noted, he is at the start of a lengthy recovery.
“In typical Joe fashion, he is in good spirits and looking forward to getting out of the hospital, but he has a long road ahead of him,” Battles wrote on the GoFundMe.
