A Sharpsburg man is accused of throwing another man onto the tracks at the Wood Street T station over the weekend and telling the victim he’d kill him because he was white, according to charges filed this week.
Two witnesses told police they saw a black man later identified as Willie James Hayes, 46, assault the victim, throw him onto the tracks, walk to the edge of the light-rail platform and say, “I (expletive) told you I was going to kill you.”
The alleged attack happened shortly before 9 p.m. Saturday.
Security footage from inside the Wood Street station backed up the witness statements, police said. The footage showed a man in a light-colored, button-down shirt, red tie, khaki pants and dark shoes punch the victim three times before throwing him onto the tracks, according to the criminal complaint.
Investigators noted the victim did not appear to provoke the attack, and the footage showed Hayes walk over and look down toward the tracks as the victim appeared to lay unconscious, according to the complaint.
Port Authority police responded to the station and found the victim on the train tracks. Officers noted the man was conscious but “very disoriented,” and he did not recall how he ended up on the tracks, according to the complaint.
First responders pulled the man from the tracks and transported him to a hospital with lacerations and bruises, police said.
The victim underwent surgery for internal bleeding, and he suffered rib, facial and arm fractures, according to the complaint. Police said the victim told them he recalled Hayes saying he was assaulting him “because he was white.”
Police identified the suspect as Hayes after learning he’d come from Rivers Casino on the North Shore just before the attack, according to the complaint.
Hayes is charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault and ethnic intimidation. He was arrested Thursday morning and remains in Allegheny County Jail after failing to post $50,000 bond.
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