A homeless man has been charged with knocking a man onto the Philadelphia SEPTA train tracks, leading to the victim getting struck and killed.
Chaz Wearing, 40, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter for his role in the Thursday evening incident, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office announced Friday.
NBC10 reports that Wearing had begun arguing with another man, and the fight turned physical at the University City station at the intersection of 34 and Market Streets moments before a train arrived at 4:30 p.m.
A disturbing cell phone video obtained by Philly Crime Update shows the moment that Wearing, who appears to be held against a pillar by the larger man, strikes his opponent in the face twice, sending him falling onto the tracks.
The unidentified man could be heard telling Wearing in the argument, “Give me my lighter…give me my f*cking lighter, bro!”
Screams and cries can be heard erupting from the horrified crowd gathered on the platform as the train crushes the man just seconds later.
The victim was pronounced dead shortly after.
Wearing fled but was apprehended by police at the next station stop.
Wearing, whom investigators believe is homeless, was wanted on a bench warrant for an unrelated strangulation case in Delaware County at the time of the incident, reported the local NBC station. His criminal history also includes cases in Clinton and Lycoming counties, the District Attorney’s Office said.
Latest MUGSHOT of 40 yr old Chaz L Wearing , charged with Involuntary Manslaughter in the death of a 38 yr old man who was struck and killed by a SEPTA train
— PhillyCrimeUpdate (@PhillyCrimeUpd) January 5, 2024
The following is a statement from PPD Public affairs:
On January 4, 2024, around 4:34 pm, 18th District and Septa… pic.twitter.com/8mx522H6lC
“Appeared to be some type of physical altercation. We don’t know exactly what took place prior to that to initiate this, but it’s being investigated at this point,” Philadelphia Police Inspector Kpana Massaquoi told the outlet.
The station where the altercation occurred was shut down for hours on Thursday, as was the area near Drexel University’s campus.
“It’s kind of scary that that kind of thing is happening around here. I thought it was pretty safe, but I guess it’s pretty out of the ordinary for that to happen,” said a local SEPTA passenger.
