Yesterday, a woman was fatally struck by a train at Astor Place. The 55-year-old woman, whose name hasn't been released yet, was struck by a northbound 6 train just after 4 p.m. Saturday. Initial reports indicated she may have jumped, but according to witnesses, she was struck after she leaned over the platform: "She turned to look for the train and was hit literally right in the face by it," witness Giancarlo Vinciguerra told us. "The impact was enough to spin her body into the side of the moving train which finally knocked her down, and her leg was then also hit by the side of the train."

Vinciguerra, who described the woman as either Asian or Hispanic, said other people at the station came to her aid immediately: "She was just laying there until another passenger who I presumed was medically trained took her pulse, rolled her over and tilted her head back I guess to make sure her air passage was not obstructed." Those other passengers included Crystal Mojica's sister, a nurse, and a doctor who was there: "[The doctor] proceeded to give her CPR, but the woman's face was so badly disfigured [and] covered in blood that it was not possible to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation," Mojica told the News.

Paramedics took the woman to Beth Israel Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. "The sound that was made when the train hit her was loud enough to have everyone around us turn to see what happened, most of us thought she was dead on impact and I was pretty surprised to see them try CPR, knowing they wouldn't try without getting some vital signs," Vinciguerra added. "It was very sad and I was hoping to hear of some sort of miracle."