WHITE PLAINS – A homeless man from White Plains was sentenced in Westchester County Court on Tuesday to 25 years in state prison for pushing a college student in front of an oncoming Metro-North Railroad train as she stood on the railroad’s White Plains station platform on September 25, 2013.
Howard Mickens, 41, pled guilty in December to attempted murder for pushing Maya Leggat from behind. The victim was struck by the train and suffered several injuries including a broken back, a severed finger, several broken bones and lacerations across her body.
The train’s operator put the train into emergency mode and contacted dispatchers.
Mickens walked away from the platform, but several witnesses followed him and alerted MTA police, who took him into custody.
“Without any warning or prior interaction, this defendant pushed a young woman on her way to school in front of a moving commuter train,” said Westchester District Attorney Janet DiFiore. “While this young woman’s quick and clear headed thinking saved her life, this defendant will now be held accountable for his actions and serve the maximum sentence allowed by law.”
