NY1 VIDEO: As NY1 News revisits its 20-year history, the station looks back at reporter Rebecca Spitz' April 28, 1999, piece on the second person that year to be pushed onto the subway tracks by a mentally ill stranger.

 

NY1 FOLLOW-UP: The victim of the April 28 attack, Edgar Rivera, survived the ordeal but lost both his legs. His attacker, Julio Perez, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for attempted murder.

Following the attack, Rivera expressed sympathy for Perez, who had a history of mental illness. Rivera became an advocate for Kendra's Law – named after the victim of 1999's first subway pushing – which allows the courts to force the mentally ill to receive treatment.

He also sued several of the facilities that treated Perez, for negligence. His attorney says a settlement was reached, but the details are confidential.

In 2005, the Rivera family moved to Houston, where Rivera says he rarely thinks about his attacker or the incident itself, and focuses instead on enjoying life with his family, which now includes a grandson.

He sent NY1 an updated photo of him, above, with his children.

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