The award-winning artist who survived being shoved into a moving Manhattan train heartbreakingly needed her mom to wipe away her tears at her attacker’s sentencing Wednesday — after the senseless attack left her paralyzed from the shoulders down.
Turkish born artist Emine Ozsoy, 38, tore into DoorDash driver Kamal Semrade in Manhattan Supreme Court — who showed no signs of remorse and refused to apologize for forever changing her life and leaving her quadriplegic after he threw her into a train at the 63rd Street and Lexington Avenue subway station in May 2023.
“I am in this condition because of this evil action,” Ozsoy said from a motorized wheelchair during her victim impact statement.
“I have a long life ahead of me, yet I have to live with these circumstances,” she tearfully added.
Semrade, 42, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Manhattan Supreme Court Wednesday following his all-count conviction in March, where a jury convicted him on attempted murder and assault charges.
Semrade’s attorney, Michael Fineman, asked the judge for lenience when sentencing Semrade, citing his mental health problems that he’s suffered for years.
When given the chance to apologize to the victim, Semrade — who couldn’t even look Ozsoy in the eyes — declined.
Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Althea 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.
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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.
Semrade fled the station before returning to a shelter in Queens.
He was identified by shelter employees thanks to an NYPD CrimeStoppers post and arrested two days after the attack.
During her speech, Ozsoy, whose art designs were featured in Chicago Magazine and NPR, said she can no longer continue as an artist and faces extreme financial difficulties due to the attack.
“Each day brings new challenges,” she said. “I am unable to meet even my most basic needs independently and must constantly rely on the help of others.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement that callous DoorDash driver uprooted Ozsoy’s life with “catastrophic, permanent injuries.”
“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 as the victim continues her recovery and works to rebuild her life.”
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