A grieving widow who said goodbye to her husband of 31 years on Sunday is asking the hurried commuter who pushed the couple in a subway station to come forward.
Deanna Chitayat, 85, spoke to NBC 4 New York after attending the funeral for her husband, 89-year-old Kurt Salzinger, a psychology professor.
The couple was in the 34th Street-Penn Station on Oct. 27 when a rushing commuter bumped into them and knocked Salzinger to the ground, she said.
“Kurt went down like that," Chitayat said, "on the floor. Like a dead person.”
Rick Loomis/Getty Images
The fall eventually led to Salzinger's death 12 days later, the NYPD confirmed. He had bleeding in the brain, then developed pneumonia.
“The guy came by, bent down took a look at him and jumped into the car," Chitayat said. "And that was the end of him we never saw him again.”
Other straphangers helped Salzinger, who had fled Austria with his family during World War II.
Salzinger was a professor emeritus at Hofstra University who was the former senior scholar in residence in the school's psychology department, the school said in a statement.
Police said they are investigating the incident as an accident. They looked through surveillance footage but didn't find him.
But the family says he needs to come forward and is asking anyone who saw the push to help identify him.
“I dont want to put him in jail because I dont think he deliberately did it. I want him to feel guilt," Chitayat said, "that he killed a wonderful wonderful man.”
Police asked anyone with information to call the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.
“the guy came by, bent down took a look at him and jumped into the car. And that was the end of him we never saw him again.”
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