On May 8, 1993, a New York City transit dispatcher handed the controls of an eight-car subway train to a man he believed was a 25-year-old motorman. For the next three and a half hours, the massive electric vehicle safely carried 2,000 unsuspecting passengers across 24 miles of the city’s longest transit route.
Every stop was announced flawlessly. Every station approach was handled with precision. But the person in the driver’s seat was not an official Transit Authority employee. He was Keron Thomas, a 16-year-old boy who had carefully orchestrated one of the most audacious security breaches in New York transit history.
Studying the Subway System
After moving from Trinidad to Brooklyn in 1990, Keron became fascinated by the underground transit network. He spent hours hanging around dispatcher offices, absorbing transit jargon, reading official training manuals, and collecting uniform shirts.
Eventually, the stocky teenager convinced a legitimate motorman named Regoberto Sabio that he was a 25-year-old peer. By riding along in the operator’s cabin with Sabio, Keron learned the exact mechanics of driving the massive trains, communicating with conductors, and releasing the emergency brakes.
Taking Control of the A Train
When Sabio took a vacation, Keron seized his opportunity. On a Saturday afternoon, the teenager called the 207th Street station in Manhattan, claimed to be Sabio, and requested a shift. When he arrived, he signed in using Sabio’s official pass number.
Aside from a mild scolding for wearing jeans instead of proper uniform trousers, the teenager blended in perfectly. At 3:58 p.m., Keron stepped into the cabin of an eight-car R44 electric train, buzzed the conductor, closed the doors, and set off for Brooklyn.
A Flawless Route Derailed by Speed
Keron operated the heavy machinery with absolute care, executing a nearly flawless 24-mile route to Lefferts Boulevard. He even arrived at his Brooklyn destination one minute ahead of schedule. However, on the return trip to Manhattan, the train picked up too much speed down a slight incline in Washington Heights.
Exceeding the 20-mph speed limit, the train blew past a signal and tripped the automatic emergency brakes, hissing to a complete halt. To reset the brakes, Keron needed to step out into the dark tunnel. Terrified of the exposed high-voltage tracks and rats, he froze.
Fleeing the Mandatory Drug Test
For thirty minutes, Keron sat stranded in the tunnel while confused Transit Authority supervisors tried to coach him over the radio. Finally, a rail inspector arrived to repower the train. Following protocol for a speeding violation, officials ordered the unidentified driver to headquarters for a mandatory drug test.
Keron fled the station before arriving. Detectives soon tracked him down at his parents’ house in Brownsville, discovering the driver was actually a high schooler. Authorities ultimately sentenced Keron to three years of probation for the stunt, sparing him jail time.