The woman was standing on the train platform when she was attacked about 6:25 a.m. in the Chinatown station at Eighth and Race Streets, Darby said. The station is diagonally across the street from Philadelphia Police Headquarters.
The victim was apparently pushed onto the tracks, about four feet below, and dragged under the platform. A train operator told officers he thought he saw two mannequins under the platform as he was pulling into the station. It was actually the victim and her attacker struggling.
The squeal of the train's air brakes may have alerted the assailant. Witnesses said they saw him stand up, pull up his tan pants, and run, shirtless, from the station. He was later seen running southbound on Seventh Street, and also was reportedly seen around Ninth and Cherry Streets.
Lt. Dan Bagnell of the victims unit said the woman was semiconscious, having been beaten badly about the face and head, when police arrived. She was passing in and out of consciousness when investigators spoke to her later in the day, giving one- or two-word answers to questions.
But, Bagnell said, she did clearly say one thing: "He tried to kill me."
Said Darby: "The level of violence is obviously alarming here. We are concerned about that, and we want people who traverse these areas, especially women, to take necessary precautions."
Police are looking for other people who might have been on the platform yesterday morning. It is unclear why the victim was there, but investigators said she might have been in Chinatown earlier in the morning. The assailant might have fled with the victim's pocketbook and identification.
He is described as a thin male in his 20s, about 5 feet 8 inches tall. He is light-skinned with light facial hair and may be of African American or Hispanic descent.
