Questions remain after subway death

Early morning on Saturday, Jan. 28, Julia Packer, 22, somehow found herself on the narrow walkway which skirts the 1-train tracks above West 242nd St. She walked a bit further, past the train depot at West 240th Street, maybe just past the 240th Street Tower, where operators control the line. That was as far as Ms. Packer went before she was fatally struck by a 1 train pulling out of the depot at about 4:33 a.m.

It unclear how Ms. Packer got onto the restricted pathway at 242nd St./Van Cortlandt Park, where repairs have been ongoing. The native of Brookline, Massachusetts was enrolled at Yeshiva University in Manhattan.

“I have to say, it’s impossible to say,” MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz said. “I have no more information.”

When asked, Mr. Ortiz rejected the idea that the accident pointed to larger safety concerns at the northernmost reaches of the line.

“Just don’t walk on the tracks,” he said.

Police at the 50th Precinct said that Ms. Packer’s body was discovered when emergency brakes triggered as the train came out of the 238th Street station, going southbound. It is a train conductor’s responsibility to check beneath the train after striking anything.

Both the 50th Precinct and Det. Arlene Muniz of the NYPD’s Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Public Information confirmed that detectives will use video evidence retrieved at 1-train stations, the 240th Street Tower and the 240th Street depot to determine whether anyone accompanied Ms. Packer onto the tracks, if alcohol was involved and whether there is reason to believe the incident is anything more than a tragic accident.

As it stands, the death is deemed “not suspicious,” according to Det. Muniz.

The 1 line is operated from two buildings — an office at the edge of the 242nd Street station platform, where operators guide trains on their way with the click of a button, and the 240th Street Tower, perched above Broadway.

During recent visits to the 238th and 242nd street stations as well as the 240th street train tower, MTA workers and managers declined to speak to The Press.