In a poignant moment during the sentencing of her attacker, an acclaimed artist who survived a brutal assault at a Manhattan subway station was seen relying on her mother for comfort as she wiped away her tears. The attack, which has left her paralyzed from the shoulders down, took place on a moving train in New York City, leaving a lasting impact on her life.
Emine Ozsoy, a 38-year-old artist originally from Turkey, addressed the court with a powerful statement directed at Kamal Semrade, the DoorDash driver responsible for the attack. In Manhattan Supreme Court, Semrade remained stoic, offering no apology for the incident that occurred at the 63rd Street and Lexington Avenue station in May 2023, which left Ozsoy a quadriplegic.
“I am living with these devastating consequences because of his malevolent act,” Ozsoy expressed from her motorized wheelchair during her victim impact statement.
She continued, her voice filled with emotion, “I face a long future ahead, one that I must now navigate under these tragic circumstances.”
At the sentencing, Semrade, 42, received a 20-year prison term after a March conviction on charges of attempted murder and assault. The jury found him guilty on all counts, reflecting the gravity of his offenses.
Despite the conviction, Semrade’s attorney, Michael Fineman, appealed to the court for a reduced sentence, highlighting Semrade’s ongoing struggles with mental health issues that have plagued him for years.
When given the chance to apologize to the victim, Semrade declined.
Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Athlea Drysdale called the randomness of the attack “profoundly disturbing” before noting Semrade’s lack of remorse.
“I’ve waited to see you, Mr. Semrade, express a scintilla of remorse. None has been forthcoming,” the judge said.
According to prosecutors, Semrade boarded the same subway car as Ozsoy, who was on her way to work, at the Roosevelt Avenue stop in Queens on May 21, 2023.
The pair, who did not know each other, exited the train at the 63rd Street and Lexington Avenue subway stop when Semrade walked behind the victim and shoved her by the head and neck into the side of a moving subway car, prosecutors said in court.
“The victim was a complete stranger to the defendant,” Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Katelyn Damanis seethed. “She had never met him, never spoken to him, never interacted with him to her knowledge.”
Ozsoy’s face and head hit the train and she was flung back onto the platform and laid motionless on the platform.
She later learned that she fractured her spine and would remain paralyzed from the shoulders down after having spinal surgery.
