Police question man in death of commuter allegedly pushed onto New York subway track (VIDEO)

A suspect in the New York subway death has allegedly admitted to pushing the man from the platform into the path of a train.

According to the New York Post, the man, 30, allegedly told police that he “stayed and watched” as the train hit Ki Suk Han, 58.

“He said he heard his torso snap and he knew he was dead," a police source told the newspaper. 

Sources also said he works as a street vendor and lives in Queens.

Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne told CBS News that no charges had been filed yet and, according to the Wall Street Journal, the suspect was expected to be placed in a line-up for witnesses to identify him.

He was taken into custody yesterday afternoon, 8 hours after a $12,000 reward was offered for his capture. 

The incident has horrified people, not just for its random nature but also because onlookers, including a freelance photographer who photographed the incident, failed to help Han off the tracks.

The Daily Mail said reports from police sources and witnesses suggest there was at least one minute before the train hit, in which Han struggled to make it to safety. 

The New York Post ran a front page photograph of Han looking at the train as it was meters away from killing him. 

Following strong criticism, the photographer, R. Umar Abbasi, defended his decision to take the photo rather than help, saying there were many other people a lot closer than him.

"The train hit the man before I could get to him, and nobody closer tried to pull him out."

Abbasi said he activated his camera's flash to try to alert the driver. 

"I just started running. I had my camera up — it wasn’t even set to the right settings — and I just kept shooting and flashing, hoping the train driver would see something and be able to stop."

Han had been trying to calm the allegedly deranged man down and stop him harrassing other passengers when he was shoved onto the tracks. 

Witnesses said Han tried to scramble to safety but it was too late as the train was pulling into the station at 49th St.

Surveillance footage broadcast by CBS News shows the two men talking moments before the deadly incident. 

The New York Post reported onlookers screamed and waved their hands and bags to alert the train driver but it was too late. 

Han was taken to Roosevelt Hospital, but it was believed he died at the scene.

More from GlobalPost: New York Post slammed over subway death photo