Darius McCollum

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Darius McCollum (born 1965) is a New York resident with a lengthy arrest record for crimes related to trains and the New York City Subway system.

Contents

[edit] History

McCollum has been obsessed with trains from an early age, frequently riding various trains around New York for days at a time. His obsession with trains has led McCollum to frequently impersonate New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) employees or a related entity (most recently, as an outside safety consultant) for which he has been jailed numerous times. McCollum has been rejected for employment by NYCTA on numerous occasions, although he is reported to know more about the trains, schedules, procedures and rail operations than any current employee[citation needed].

A prison psychiatrist who did a brief evaluation said that Asperger syndrome might explain Darius's behavior.[1] No court has accepted the Asperger's diagnosis.[2]

McCollum reportedly had memorized the subway system by age five.[3]

In 2005, after McCollum was apprehended at a Long Island Railroad yard with the keys to an M-7 in his pocket, he pleaded guilty to attempting to steal a locomotive and was sentenced to three years in prison.[4] Although he was released from Sing Sing in 2006, he was reimprisoned for breaking parole after he was found in possession of railroad property.[5]

[edit] Reaction

By the mid-1990s, McCollum "had become a minor cult figure", particularly after the NYCTA posted thousands of wanted posters in trains and stations so that riders could report sightings. A newspaper headline called him "The Transit Authority's Biggest Running Sore". Occasionally, McCollum would appear as transit employees named "Morning" or "Manning", who riders invariably experienced as friendly and helpful.[6] Though the newspapers frequently label him a "subway buff", of which McCollum is "probably the best known" example (and defined as "fans who love trains so much that they feel compelled to take them"), the railfan community generally consider them as "crackpots and vandals". According to a transit official, "There are people who are interested in trains, and then there are people who are crazy."[7]

After McCollum used an insanity defense based on Asperger's, he became a folk hero to people with Asperger diagnoses, especially children, celebrated for his "rebellion against what autistics often call the dreary world of the 'neurotypicals'". In at least one criminal proceeding this defense was denied as the judge rule he was "capable of controlling his impulses".[6]

Although his parents, who have retired to North Carolina, believe McCollum should leave New York to avoid the temptation of the trains,[2] parole conditions have repeatedly restricted McCollum to remaining in New York City.[8] Suggestions from his parents and autism advocates that the MTA find a way to hire McCollum in some capacity, in the manner of Frank Abagnale, are rejected by transit officials, who fear legal liability.[2]

A Harper's Magazine article on McCollum by Jeff Tietz was a finalist in profile writing for the 2003 American Society of Magazine Editors awards.[9] At the 2003 Edinburgh Fringe, the 78th Street Theatre Lab of New York mounted a play by Jude Domski called Boy Steals Train, based largely on McCollum's life, and described as "pointing a shaming collective finger at a judiciary that refuses to recognise Darius's condition".[10] The play was awarded a Fringe First by The Scotsman[11] and the troupe won a Best Ensemble Acting Award.[12] His story was also made into a BBC radio play, broadcast on BBC Radio 4.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Tietz, Jeff. "The boy who loved transit: how the system failed an obsession", Harper's Magazine, Gale Group, May 2002. Retrieved on 2007-11-08. 
  2. ^ a b c Haberman, Clyde. "Back in Prison, Guilty Mainly of a Fixation", The New York Times, April 12, 2005. Retrieved on 2007-11-07. 
  3. ^ Murphy, Wendy B (2002). Orphan Diseases: New Hope for Rare Medical Conditions. Twenty-First Century Books. ISBN 0761319190. 
  4. ^ Darius McCollum sentencing release. Queens District Attorney's Office (April 6, 2005). Retrieved on 2007-11-07.
  5. ^ Gilmore, Heather. "Dad: Give my nut son a rail cure", New York Post, November 12, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-11-07. 
  6. ^ a b Osborne, Lawrence (2002). American Normal: The Hidden World of Asperger Syndrome. Springer. ISBN 0387953078. 
  7. ^ Kennedy, Randy (2004). Subwayland: Adventures in the World Beneath New York. St. Martin's Press. 
  8. ^ Knight, Sam. "On the wrong track", The Times, April 18, 2005. Retrieved on 2007-11-07. 
  9. ^ (2003) "The Boy Who Loved Transit", in American Society of Magazine Editors: The Best American Magazine Writing 2003. HarperCollins. ISBN 0060567759. 
  10. ^ Cavendish, Dominic. "Edinburgh reports: American dreamers", Daily Telegraph, August 19, 2003. Retrieved on 2007-11-06. 
  11. ^ Eaton, Andrew (8 August 2003). Winners in the limelight. The Scotsman. Edinburgh Festivals. Retrieved on 2007-11-08.
  12. ^ Weinert, Laura (August 2003). Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2003, Bravehearts Only. BackStageWest. Retrieved on 2007-11-08.