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Photog Who Took NYC Subway Photo Hits Back at ‘Armchair Critics’: ‘I Could Not Reach That Man — If I Could Have, I Would Have’

Dec. 5, 2012 10:19am Madeleine Morgenstern

R. Umar Abbasi, Photographer Who Shot NYC Subway Photo Hits Back at Armchair Critics: I Could Not Reach That Man

Image source: New York Post

The photographer who shot the image of a trapped man moments before a New York subway train struck him said he was too far away to reach the victim and he can’t let the “armchair critics” bother him.

New York Post freelancer R. Umar Abbasi wrote in a column published Wednesday that he was on assignment for the newspaper waiting for a train when he “suddenly heard people gasping.” There was an train incoming and “out of the periphery of my eye, I saw a body flying through the air and onto the track.”

Abbasi said he started running toward the man and the train, his camera raised, “shooting and flashing, hoping the train driver would see something and be able to stop.”

He said he didn’t know what he was shooting, and estimated that just 22 seconds elapsed between he first heard the shouting and when the man was struck.

“The victim was so far away from me, I was already too far away to reach him when I started running,” Abbasi wrote. “The train hit the man before I could get to him, and nobody closer tried to pull him out.”

He said that when it was finished, he didn’t look at the photos, and said he didn’t even know he’d captured everything in such detail until detectives came to see them at the New York Post office.

“When I finally looked at them late that night, my heart started racing. It was terrible, seeing it happen all over again,” he said.

The New York Post and Abbasi have been the target of outrage and heavy criticism — the Post for its decision to run the image, and Abbasi for taking photos rather than trying to help the man.

Abbasi wrote he was “surprised” at the anger from “armchair critics” who weren’t there.

“People think I had time to set the camera and take photos, and that isn’t the case,” he said. “I just ran toward that train. The sad part is, there were people who were close to the victim, who watched and didn’t do anything. You can see it in the pictures.”

“The truth is I could not reach that man; if I could have, I would have,” he said. “But the train was moving faster than I could get there.”

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Comments (21)

Whiskey_Tango
Posted on December 9, 2012 at 7:35pm
This happened on a busy subway platform, right? With other people standing around, besides this photographer? And no one helped, least of all the photographer. So let’s spread the blame around a little. Someone needed help – preferably BEFORE he was tossed onto the rails – and the big apple gave him the big finger.

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Chrisrob63
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 12:13pm
Yes, he was running all the way toward the guy; finger just happened to be on the shutter button. Amazingly clear photo captured while running to save the poor man.

“Don’t just do something! Stand there!”

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denkat56
Posted on December 5, 2012 at 7:24pm
I think that the one responsible for this murder should be killed the same way..

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charles116
Posted on December 5, 2012 at 5:02pm
Did you know, it’s also illegal to take pic in a subway?
The law was passed after 9/11, but rarely enforced as most tourists are not aware of it,

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charles116
Posted on December 5, 2012 at 5:01pm
He didn’t know what he was shooting. Tee Hee.
Like a train coming into a train station is SUCH an event on it’s own.
Who wouldn’t whip out a camera.

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doodoo
Posted on December 5, 2012 at 1:06pm
if we would just do away with subway trains this man would still be alive today,,,this train maliciously killed this poor man.

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- pavepaws
  Posted on December 5, 2012 at 3:58pm
  I think Bob Costas should comment.
  
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JQuentinEvermann
Posted on December 5, 2012 at 1:02pm
You must realize that people who complained about the photo are also the type that was intrigued enough to pick up the paper, or click on the thumbnail, etc.

Sorry, but if you’re complaining about this photo, you should be complaining about yourself and people like you.

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P8riot
Posted on December 5, 2012 at 12:56pm
journalist = liberal = wants to help everyone but wants someone else to do it.

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DREDGE
Posted on December 5, 2012 at 12:23pm
So, someone took a picture and sold it. Nothing unusual here! However, throwing someone onto the rails is quite understood and accepted. These news dopes are making a bigger buck then this photog could ever make on this item. Does anybody really think that Matt would get his hands dirty touching another human. What a douchbag!!!!!

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- Kaoscontrol
  Posted on December 5, 2012 at 12:44pm
  Right or wrong, a photo journalist’s job is to photograph all sorts of tragedy and violence to provide visual imagery associated with the news story to the media viewers or subscribers. Whenever there’s a tragedy, hopefully anyone who witnessed the event has a time of introspection asking themselves “Could I have done more?”, but to blame Abbasi (The photographer) for the victim’s death, or to question his motive to sell those images is a little too much “Could-a, would-a, should-a” at this point, and not terribly helpful.
  
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Ghandi was a Republican
Posted on December 5, 2012 at 11:43am
Where’s sharpton? I wonder if obama had a son it would look like this victim? What’s up?

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thegreatcarnac
Posted on December 5, 2012 at 11:36am
Everybody is ragging on the photographer. What about the black guy who pushed the man under the train? What about him?? He is the murderer. Does everyone forget him because they don’t want to blame a black guy for obvious murder?? We should be seeing to it this murderer gets what is coming to him. I saw on TV (so it might be a lie) that the murderer was “mentally disturbed”. So what!. I am disturbed he pushed a guy in front of a subway train.

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DarkestbeforeDawn
Posted on December 5, 2012 at 11:12am
Even if he didn’t know what was taking place while he was snapping the photos, the man is a freelance photographer. He knew right after a man had been killed. He knew he took pictures. Does anyone really believe he didn’t look to see if he’d got a shot to sell?

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drphil69
Posted on December 5, 2012 at 11:09am
You know if you try to help someone and injure them while saving their life you can be sued.

With the LIB-TARDS in control, it is better to watch people die than try to help. If you try to help you might end up in jail, unable to support your family. No, in the liberal utopia, only the govt. can help, which is the way the lib-tards want it, so they get it. And when they are killing each other over scraps of food, I will recline my lazy-boy and enjoy the news reports.

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No Quarter
Posted on December 5, 2012 at 10:55am
Trying to help people can get you into trouble these days…. Everyone is too eager to Sue everyone else. Recently had a similar situation locally where a man was pulled from a wrecked car seconds before car hit by tanker…. The hero was sued due to dislocating the mans shoulder pulling him from wreck. Most people are not worth helping these days, protect your own.
Besides, the guy on the tracks could have been an obama supporter.

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Cibolo
Posted on December 5, 2012 at 10:37am
LIAR! You could have reached him, you stood by, watched the interaction between the two, watched the man get thrown to the tracks, then stood there for a “photo op” while an on coming train was closing in on him. I saw a video the other day of a man on the back of a motorcycle that pushed a car off of the train tracks, single handed, just in the nick of time saving not only the passengers of the car, but also the passengers of the train as it could have easily derailed. The difference, he was not looking to make a quick buck off some pictures of a catastrophe that could have been averted, (by you!) He was selfless!

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- right-wing-waco
  Posted on December 5, 2012 at 10:55am
  Unless your comment was “tongue in cheek”, your comment was disgusting. You were not there and I doubt if you would have done anything.
  
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citizen0000
Posted on December 5, 2012 at 10:37am
it was disgusting to watch Matt Lauer and his cohort go after this guy this morning, trying to put him in a gotcha situation or shame him, suggesting he did it only for the money. Matt tryed to get a response from him basically asking him, how he could take photos, his job, of a man about to die and do nothing.
I would have asked Matt how he could report on things like Benghazi, where Americans asked for help, we did nothing but watch as they died. I’m not even sure if he reported on Benghazi or even knows about what happened.

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perry1980
Posted on December 5, 2012 at 10:32am
criticize the messenger instead of the deadbeat who wants a handout instead of a hand up

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RANGER1965
Posted on December 5, 2012 at 10:28am
The guy is making it worse. He should just shut his mouth and drive on. Regardless if what he says is true or not, it’s just looks like he is digging a deeper hole.

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