Jordan Dallard was on his way home last Friday evening when his commute suddenly took a horrifying turn.
Dallard said he was holding a microwave that he had just bought and was in an “extremely congested” Bloor-Yonge station in Toronto, making his way to the subway.
He admitted he was walking on the yellow strip very close to the track — closer than he should have been, but was in a rush. Dallard said he was making his way down the platform and was saying “excuse me” to people as he made his way through with the box holding the microwave.
“At one point when I reached one gentleman, he just didn’t respond at all,” Dallard explained, adding that he then repeatedly said “excuse me” to the man.
“And as I did, it was so congested, the corner of the box just nudged him. At that point, he turned around very disgruntled. He said, ‘Are you f***ing kidding me?’ and he pushed me back onto the track.”
Dallard said it all happened “very quickly” and was “like a movie.”
“I remember vividly hearing many people screaming. All I remember is them trying to help me,” he said.
“Immediately people threw their arms out because I didn’t realize as I was getting to my feet, a train was coming into the station.”
Dallard said he then tried to jump for the people’s hands who were reaching out to help, but he missed.
“The train is almost at me at this point so I just grabbed the top of the platform on the yellow strip and at this point the train hit me,” he said.
Dallard said his only idea was to try to stay between the train and the platform, and so he grabbed onto the front of the subway and “held on for dear life.”
He said his chest was pressed up against the platform and one of his arms was holding onto the train.
“It was very painful, but when you go into shock you don’t feel the pain immediately,” he said.
The train then stopped and bystanders went to assist and get him up off the tracks.
He was later treated in hospital for his injuries, most of which are on the left side of his body.
“I’m in quite a bit of pain. The main injury — where I took the hit was on my left side, so that’s what took the main brunt of the injury,” he said, adding that he suffered a ripped tendon and tissue damage to his knee, among other injuries.
Considering the circumstances, Dallard said he is lucky to be alive.
“I joke around and I say I have nine lives because I’ve had quite a few near-misses in my life, but that by far was the closest near-miss,” he said.
“It was a very surreal feeling.”
On Wednesday, Toronto police issued a news release regarding the incident and released an image of a suspect investigators were working to identify.
On Thursday, officers said a suspect turned himself in.
Twenty-six-year-old Toronto resident Tasho Shipinkas has been charged with aggravated assault. He is scheduled to appear in court Friday.
Dallard said since the incident, he has lost his job as a heavy equipment operator, doesn’t know when he will be able to return, and is “not finding a whole lot of help so far.” He said he worries about his finances and supporting his two children.
His daughter Rianna Dallard told Global News she is proud of her dad for “staying strong” following the ordeal.
Jordan also had a word of advice for those taking the subway:
“Don’t go too close. That yellow strip is there for a reason. Don’t risk it …
“It’s not you you’ve got to worry about all the time as I’ve learned.”
—With files from Sean O’Shea