A troubled woman accused of pushing two unsuspecting tourists onto Manhattan train tracks spewed an incoherent tirade in court Thursday, with prosecutors saying the terrifying attack “easily” could have been fatal.
Ebony Batts, who appeared to be wearing the same floral hospital gown she was wearing when she was arrested early Monday morning, has maintained her innocence in the unprovoked attack.
“I didn’t push anybody, a little boy pushed me against something,” the dazed woman rambled when asked by The Post about the incident. Butts is suspected of carrying out this dangerous attack before.
Prosecutors said Butts pushed the woman onto a train car at the Delancey Street/Essex Street station just after 2:15 p.m., then turned his attention to the second victim, who was trying to help her friend back onto the platform.
Fortunately, passersby rushed to the scene, saving the two injured Mexican tourists and preventing Butts from escaping before the F train reached the station.
“If the train had arrived earlier and passengers had not come to his aid it could have been a much more serious incident,” Abel McDonnell told the court.
“This is every New Yorker’s worst nightmare, a potential double homicide.”
Butts, 42, maintained his innocence over several instances of verbal abuse, including shouting “What are you doing, you fat bastard” when it was not directed at anyone, but formally entered a not guilty plea.
McDonnell also said Butts was being investigated as a suspect in a separate subway shoving incident in Brooklyn, though details of that incident have not yet been released.
The suspect has been arrested at least nine times since 1999, most recently in 2016 for an unprovoked assault in Brooklyn, where he punched a 38-year-old woman in the face.
Sources previously told The Post that Butts, who was taken to Bellevue Hospital for examination after the shove, was believed to be emotionally unstable.
Judge Michelle Weber granted the prosecution’s request to hold Butts without bail, citing his violent history.
As she was led out of the courtroom, Butts shouted, “Don’t take my picture! I’ve done nothing wrong!”
She has been charged with two counts of first-degree assault and two counts of second-degree assault.
