Exclusive: Subway attack victim credits Gwen Stefani for survival

NYC woman pushed onto subway tracks speaks out

A woman is speaking exclusively to FOX 5 NY after being pushed onto the tracks of the New York City subway by a random man.

NEW YORK - Crime and violence in New York City's subways has been a growing problem in 2022, leaving behind a trail of victims, some of whose lives have been forever changed.

FOX 5 NY spoke to one of those victims. She is a 22-year-old woman from Brooklyn we are not naming.

She said what should've been a normal trip home from work turned into a terrifying experience.

A woman spoke exclusively with FOX 5 NY after she became yet another victim of New York City's rise in subway crime.

"You never think you’re gonna be in a moment when you’re like, I need to live, that’s all I could think about," the woman said.

According to the woman, on September 19, she was making her way home when she got off at her Crown Heights subway stop and was suddenly punched and knocked unconscious by a random man, before being pushed onto the subway tracks.

"Being in the tracks, that's what gives me nightmares," she said. "That was the most scary thing of my life."

The Gwen Stefani connection

NYC subway crime victim and Gwen Stefani

A woman who was a victim of violence in the New York City subway says her love of Gwen Stefani helped save her life.

Miraculously, the woman was able to pull herself up to the platform and sprint out of the station.

In that horrifying moment, the woman said that her love for singer Gwen Stefani helped her get off the tracks. The superfan says she's been pulled on stage with the former No Doubt singer several times, including at a recent show in Las Vegas where the stage was roughly the same height as the subway platform.

"It's because Gwen's called me on stage so many times, that's why my body knew what to do," she said.

The face of a 22-year-old woman after she was punched and shoved onto the subway tracks in Crown Heights.

"I looked like a monster. Like my face was all swollen, I didn’t even know I had a black eye til I looked in the mirror," she said.

Police say the suspect took off after stealing her phone and has not been arrested yet. An investigation is still ongoing.

And while she is safe now and is slowly returning to commuting using the subway, she says she has been changed indefinitely.

"I just think everybody that looks at me is gonna hurt me," the woman said. "That’s what's changed about me, I don’t trust anyone anymore. I think everyone's going to hurt me now."

Victim still too scared to ride subway again

Vesly Beato, 22, was the victim of a random attack in the subway system in August. Out of nowhere, a man hit her in the face. She was treated for a cut on her face. But she told FOX 5 NY that she is still scared to ride the subway again.