The 39-year-old woman who was shoved onto Toronto subway tracks said she felt like she was going to die and doesn’t understand why she was pushed.
Shamsa Al Balushi told CTV News Toronto on Tuesday she is still in a lot pain after being pushed onto the tracks at Yonge Subway Station on Sunday evening.
“I’m terrified,” Al Balushi said. “The way I felt, the way I was pushed, is just crazy.”
Video of the incident, obtained by the Toronto Star on Tuesday, shows Al Balushi standing on the platform before a woman facing the opposite direction approaches.
The woman then shoves her off the platform, leaving her on the tracks below.
“Next thing, I’m flying, and I’m under the rack,” she said.
Al Balushi said she found the strength to roll from the tracks to under the lip of the platform to avoid being hit by an oncoming train.
“I was screaming in pain,” she said. “I felt like I was going to die.”
When emergency crews arrived, Al Balushi was found conscious and breathing. She was rushed to a trauma centre in serious but stable condition.
It was later confirmed she sustained a broken rib.
Two days after being pushed, Al Balushi said she is still in a lot of pain, but admits her injuries could have been a lot worse.
“Every time I stand I have to scream,” she said.
Al Balushi has been discharged with from hospital, but still concerned about her injuries, she returned Tuesday for a follow-up, arriving no less by taking the subway again.
Edith Frayne, a 45-year-old Toronto resident, is now facing one count of attempted murder in connection with the incident. She briefly attended court on Tuesday at College Park, police said.
The Justice of the Peace has ordered Frayne not to contact the victim. The case was put over until Wednesday.
It is unclear why the suspect allegedly pushed the woman, and police say there is no reason to believe the two women knew one another.
“I am an innocent person,” said Al Balushi.
