Family of man who died jumping New York City subway turnstile appeal to public to stop sharing video of his death

Incident occurred at Forest Hills-71st Avenue train station in Queens

An image of Chris De La Cruz, 28, who died on Sunday (Brian De La Cruz/GoFundMe)

The family of a 28-year-old man who died after jumping a turnstile at a subway station in New York City have appealed to the public to not to share a video of his death.

Christopher De La Cruz, of Queens, New York, was identified by The New York Police Department (NYPD) on Monday as the man who died on Sunday morning in Queens.

His family said his death had been a shock and asked for people “not to promote or share any videos” of De La Cruz jumping and falling at Forest Hills-71st Avenue train station in Queens.

His brother Brian De La Cruz wrote in a fundraiser: “His passing is sudden and comes at shock to the family. We ask at this time that while the situation remains public to please not to promote or share any videos.”

Reports suggested that the victim of Sunday’s incident, De La Cruz, had been intoxicated when he broke his neck during a fall at the Forest Hills-71st Avenue station at about 6.45am that day.

Video appears to confirm that description of events, and was obtained by news outlets including the New York Post and DailyMail.com, who cited an unnamed “police source”.

An NYPD spokesperson told The Independent on Monday that De La Cruz was found “unconscious and unresponsive” by first responders in the mezzanine of the station, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Reports suggest that no criminality is suspected in his death, although it was alleged that De La Cruz had been “attempting to evade the fare”, but that remained unconfirmed.

The NYPD said on Thursday that a medical examiner was working to determine the cause of death of the individual, who his brother wrote on GoFundMe was “vibrant” and “loving”.

“He was the kindest soul. He was loved by so many people and impacted everybody that he came across,” his brother wrote.“In the wake of his death I have been reminded why I have been so lucky to have been his brother”.

De La Cruz was thought to leave behind a four-year-old son.