A tragic incident in New York City has taken the lives of a 24-year-old Indian-born woman and her friend who was hit by a subway train when they were hit by it early Sunday at a Manhattan subway station. Both were recent graduates from Rutgers University in New York City, from Dayton, New Jersey, and Navam Kaul from Sayreville, New Jersey.
The incident occurred at the Spring Street subway station in Lower Manhattan about 3:14-3:15 a.m., when a southbound No. 4 train was approaching the station. Chitre and Kaul were on the tracks when the train approached, the New York Police Department said. The train operator tried to stop when he saw them, but the train did not stop in time.
A video taken just before the crash has been posted on social media. The two appear to be sitting on the subway tracks just before the train arrived, but there’s no explanation of how they ended up on the tracks or at what point before the video was taken.
Law enforcement officials have offered some different accounts of the sequence of events. One report indicated that one of the two had fallen or climbed onto the tracks and the other had taken time to try to help the other down. Alcohol or other factors are also being investigated, authorities said. The exact circumstances are not known, and officials have not been able to give a clear reason for why they were on the tracks.
Indian-Origin Woman, Friend Die After Being Hit by Subway Train in #NewYork
— Siraj Noorani (@sirajnoorani) September 16, 2026
A horrific accident occurred at a subway station in New York City's Lower #Manhattan.
While Indian-origin youth Malaika Chitre (24) and Navam Kaul, of Nepalese origin, were on the subway platform, Kaul… https://t.co/LFIFaWjwqz pic.twitter.com/EOaSi3RC3h
Chitre and Kaul studied at Rutgers University and graduated in 2024. Chitre, from Dayton, New Jersey, had been working at Acadia Pharmaceuticals and had just started pursuing a Doctor of Pharmacy degree at Temple University. Kaul, who lived in Sayreville, graduated from Rutgers Business School with a degree in finance and worked as a financial data analyst at Bloomberg.
The deaths have shocked families and friends of the students at the college. Their education and careers, as well as their career track, have also brought into focus the sudden death of two young people who had just started their careers and further studies.
The NYPD is still investigating the incident: how the couple ended up on the tracks and the situation before the collision. Investigators will look at video footage, witness accounts, and other evidence to determine a timeline of events and why.
Even if the train operator brakes the train at the approach, the train may take quite a distance to stop. Passengers should never touch the track and should call the train station staff and emergency services if they fall onto the tracks.
As the investigation continues, officials have not yet been able to provide a definitive reason for the circumstances behind the deaths of Malaika Chitre and Navam Kaul.
