Woman Paralyzed in NYC Subway Shove Confronts Attacker at Sentencing

A woman paralyzed after a man shoved her into a moving New York City subway train confronted her attacker in court Wednesday. She described years of pain, trauma and loss.

Emine Yilmaz Ozsoy told the court she has not known a single moment of peace since the 2023 attack. "I am in this condition because of his evil action," she said, 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. She added that she has undergone multiple surgeries and countless therapy sessions.

Ozsoy said she can no longer continue her career. She now faces daily challenges, relying on others for basic needs while coping with ongoing anxiety and financial hardship.

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. She called the attack profoundly disturbing, according to the outlet.

"The sheer randomness of this incident is profoundly disturbing," Drysdale said. She added that she had seen no remorse from the defendant, Fox 5 reported.

Semrade did not speak during the hearing and showed no emotion, Fox 5 reported. 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.

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.

In the years since the attack, Ozsoy has documented her recovery on a fundraising page. "My life changed in an instant" when she suffered a severe spinal cord injury, she wrote.

"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.