Riders and personnel at the East 125th Street subway station in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood got a shock Tuesday afternoon when a 31-year-old man fell on the tracks and died as the northbound number 6 train was leaving the station. According to the New York Post, the man was attempting to defecate between moving cars at about 4:00 p.m. when he slipped and fell.

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But, in the words of the Post, “It gets weirder.”

At about the same time on the opposite platform, an extremely battered and intoxicated man heaved himself up from the tracks just as the northbound number 5 train was pulling in. That man, who police identified as Manuce Dulcio, 50, had suffered a broken pelvis, “severe buttocks injuries” and cuts.

Dulcio may have been hit by the train, but it is unclear why he was on the tracks. Safety officials initially said that the two men had been in a fight, but it now appears that the two incidents were unrelated.

New York magazine called the incidents a “bewildering confluence of mishaps.”

Riders were stuck on the number 5 train for 45 minutes as police attempted to piece together what had occurred. Passenger Angel Torres told the Post, “They told us the brakes weren’t working, but we all knew it was something else.”

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Torres’ mother, Evelyn Boneta said she had an feeling that someone had died.

“When the train stopped I told my son someone fell. .. It’s not a good feeling being on a scene where someone died,” she said.

[image via Shutterstock]