Paralyzed subway victim confronts attacker, calls his actions 'evil' at sentencing
A woman left paralyzed after being shoved into a moving New York City subway train confronted her attacker in court Wednesday, describing years of pain, trauma and loss.
Emine Yilmaz Ozsoy said she has not known "a single moment" of peace since the 2023 attack, telling the court, "I am in this condition because of his evil action," according to Fox 5 New York.
"There are no words that can fully describe the pain and struggle that I have endured over the past three years," she said, adding she has undergone multiple surgeries and "countless" therapy sessions.
Ozsoy said she can no longer continue her career and now faces daily challenges, relying on others for basic needs while coping with ongoing anxiety and financial hardship.
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A judge sentenced Kamal Semrade, 42, to 20 years in state prison after a Manhattan jury convicted him of attempted murder and first-degree assault.
Judge Althea Drysdale imposed the sentence prosecutors had requested, calling the attack "profoundly disturbing," according to the outlet.
"The sheer randomness of this incident is profoundly disturbing," Drysdale said, adding she had seen no remorse from the defendant, Fox 5 reported.
Fox 5 reported that Semrade did not speak during the hearing and showed no emotion.
Prosecutors said the attack was unprovoked.
On May 21, 2023, Semrade followed Ozsoy after the two rode the same train from Queens during the early morning commute. At the Lexington Avenue–63rd Street station, he approached her from behind and shoved her by the head and neck into a departing subway car.
Her head struck the train before she was thrown back onto the platform, fracturing her spine. Following emergency surgery, she remains paralyzed from the shoulders down.
According to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, Semrade fled the station immediately after the attack, leaving Ozsoy critically injured on the platform.
He later returned to a Queens shelter where he was living and placed the clothes he wore during the assault out for laundry service. Shelter employees identified him through an NYPD CrimeStoppers alert, leading to his arrest two days later.
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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the attack "uprooted her life," leaving her with "catastrophic, permanent injuries, including paralysis."
"After the attack, Semrade callously fled, leaving the victim helpless on the platform," Bragg said. "While nothing can undo the profound harm caused, I hope this sentence brings a measure of justice."
Semrade, who prosecutors said had been working as a delivery driver and had no prior criminal record, did not speak during the sentencing, Fox 5 reported.
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In the years since the attack, Ozsoy has documented her recovery, writing on a fundraising page that "my life changed in an instant" when she suffered a severe spinal cord injury.
"When I woke up in the ICU after surgery, everything about my life felt uncertain," she wrote.
After years of rehabilitation and multiple operations, Ozsoy said she has regained some independence, including the ability to use a computer and return to her art, though her recovery remains ongoing.
"Each of these steps represents many hours of therapy, patience, and hard work," she wrote.