Keron Thomas is primarily known for posing as New York City subway motorman "Regoberto Sabio" on May 8, 1993 and operating an A train in revenue service for over three hours. He was sixteen years old.
Thomas signed in to the 207th Street Yard in Manhattan and proceeded to operate the train that originated at the 207th Street station.[1] Thomas's actions went unnoticed by the passengers on board the R44-type train, who were safely picked up and discharged at normal station stops along the route. He completed the trip to the Lefferts Boulevard station in Queens and almost made the full round-trip. However, Thomas operated the train too quickly rounding a curve in Washington Heights, just a few stops from completing his route. This tripped the train's emergency brakes (BIE, "Brakes in Emergency") and Thomas was unable to reset them.
The full scope of Thomas's actions was discovered after he was taken to the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) headquarters for drug and alcohol testing, a standard policy after motormen are caught speeding. Despite his actions, Thomas came to be seen by some as something of a folk hero and, as a consequence, was spared jail time. The New York Times reported: "Duty-bound to make it clear that people may not play subway motorman whenever they like but wary of punishing a folk hero – and a mere boy, at that – law-enforcement officials settled yesterday on three years' probation for the 16-year-old who took the controls of a subway train for three and a half hours in May."[1]
In 1994, aged eighteen, Thomas was charged with attempted murder after being accused of stabbing another teenager in a dispute over a dice game.[2] As a result, the probation he had received for commandeering the subway train was extended.
Subsequently, Thomas became an electrician rather than a subway motorman because it provided a bigger income.[3]