Man charged in death of straphanger struck by Queens train held without bail

The man charged in the death of a Queens straphanger was held without bail Tuesday night as court documents revealed that he allegedly punched the victim in the face, causing him to fall onto the tracks in front of an oncoming train.

Carlos Garcia, 50, arraigned on charges of manslaughter and assault, is accused of causing the death of 48-year-old Heriberto Quintana after the pair got into an argument on a subway platform inside the Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue station early Monday evening.

Quintana allegedly accidentally bumped into Garcia, knocking the phone from the hand of the alleged assailant and to the tracks, according to police sources.

Garcia then demanded to know if Quintana planned to retrieve his phone for him and when he refused, the men got into a scuffle, witnesses told cops at the scene.

Station surveillance footage obtained by investigators shows the pair tussling on the ground of the platform before Quintana tumbles onto the tracks, a police official told the Post Tuesday.

Garcia allegedly delivered a final blow to Quintana’s face just as a Jamaica-bound F train came barreling into the station, causing the victim to fall in front of the train, according to witness accounts cited in the criminal complaint.

Quintana was rushed to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

At Tuesday night’s arraignment, Queens Assistant District Attorney Ryan Nicolosi told the court that Garcia admitted to hitting the victim.

However, Garcia’s attorney, James Neville, argued his client should be facing charges of assault in the third degree for the punch rather than manslaughter.

“He was upset about the guy knocking the phone out of his hands, basically telling my client in not so nice language, to ‘Go Fly a Kite,’” said Neville.

He added that Garcia tried to pull Quintana off the tracks.