By Mike Schnitzel
At about 6 a.m. Oct. 22, Michael Garrity, 22, and a friend, whom police declined to identify, decided to get off the train between the Valley Stream and Lynbrook stations when the train stopped momentarily, police said.
Garrity's friend jumped from between train cars, successfully, but the train started moving as Garrity was about to jump, and he fell in between cars and was struck and killed, said Fifth Squad Detective Sgt. John Roden. "His friend was unsure if Michael had jumped from the train, because he didn't see him," Roden said. "When he met up with friends and discovered that [Garrity] wasn't there, they went back and discovered his body."
Garrity and his friends were returning from a night of socializing in Manhattan, said Roden. According to police, the train was not scheduled to stop in Valley Stream, and Garrity's friends planned to get off in Lynbrook.
Roden said that there was no indication that alcohol played any part in the incident, and that the death was being ruled accidental, although the Fifth Squad will continue an investigation.
Garrity, a South High School graduate who was working at Tasty Delight, a Woodmere ice cream parlor, planned on joining either the New York Police Department or the Fire Department, said his sister Jessica. "He had passed the tests for both - he just had to finish his credits," she said.
According to Michael's brother Robert, he was a "great kid who had no enemies" and a mentor to some of the neighborhood children.
"His friends always came to him when they needed help," said his mother, Vilma. "He was always there for them."
Garrity is survived by his parents, Michael, a 17-year veteran of the NYPD, and Vilma; brothers, Robert and Christopher, and sisters, Josephine and Jessica.
His funeral was held at Holy Name of Mary Church on Thursday, and he was buried at St. Michael's Cemetery in Astoria.
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