In brief: Man killed by NYC subway was pushed
NEW YORK – A man standing with his wife on a Bronx subway platform was pushed onto the tracks Sunday morning by another man and was struck and killed by an oncoming train, police said. The assailant fled.
Police said an unidentified man pushed 61-year-old Wai Kuen Kwok of the Bronx off the platform at the Grand Concourse and East 167th Street station in the Highbridge neighborhood, an act that appeared to be unprovoked. Kwok was struck by a southbound D train at around 8:40 a.m. and pronounced dead at the scene; his death was classified a homicide. His wife was not injured.
There was no indication that Kwok knew the man or had had an altercation with him before he was pushed, police said. Witnesses told police they believed the man fled the subway station after shoving Kwok and jumped on a city bus.
Police later released video surveillance showing a man wearing a dark jacket getting off a city bus and walking into a store. Police said the man was wanted for questioning in connection with Kowk’s death.
Cause of Texas DuPont leak still unknown
LA PORTE, Texas – DuPont officials said Sunday it’s still not clear what caused a toxic chemical to leak from a valve at a suburban Houston plant, killing four workers and injuring a fifth.
Company spokesman Aaron Woods said DuPont is investigating the cause of the leak of methyl mercaptan at a plant in La Porte. The chemical is used to create crop-protection products such as insecticides and fungicides.
The workers were exposed early Saturday while responding to the leak that started around 4 a.m. and took about two hours to contain. They all were working there as part of their normal shift when the leak happened, Woods said.
The four workers died at the plant and a fifth was transported to a nearby hospital. The injured worker has been released from the hospital.
Tourist climbs Brooklyn Bridge for photo op
NEW YORK – New York City police say a French tourist was taken into custody after climbing the Brooklyn Bridge to take photos.
Police say the man climbed over a fence on the pedestrian walkway just after noon Sunday to reach a cable beam connected to the tower on the Manhattan side of the famed span connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan.
The daredevil feat comes seven months after two German artists scaled both towers of the Brooklyn Bridge and switched the American flags atop them for white flags.
Deadline extended for claims against GM
DETROIT – The lawyer hired by General Motors to compensate victims of crashes caused by faulty ignition switches is giving people another month to file claims.
Kenneth Feinberg announced Sunday night that the deadline has been extended until Jan. 31, 2015.
Feinberg said in a statement that the extension is being done out of an abundance of caution, even though many efforts have been made to reach owners of 2.6 million Chevrolet Cobalts, Saturn Ions and other small cars that have been recalled due to the defective switches. He said notices about the compensation fund have been sent to nearly 4.5 million current and prior owners of the cars.