Two longtime friends from New Jersey, both just 24 years old and beginning promising careers after graduating from Rutgers University, were killed early Sunday morning after they were struck by a New York City subway train.

Malaika Chitre, of Dayton in South Brunswick, and Navam Kaul, of Sayreville, were killed at the Spring Street subway station in Lower Manhattan shortly after 3 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 13.

According to the NYPD, officers responded to the station around 3:14 a.m. after receiving a 911 call regarding two people in need of ᴀssistance.

Police said Chitre and Kaul were on the roadbed when they were struck by a southbound No. 4 train. Emergency medical personnel responded, but both were pronounced ᴅᴇᴀᴅ at the scene.

Exactly how the two friends ended up on the tracks remains under investigation.

According to reports citing law enforcement and MTA sources, one of the friends may have either fallen or gone down onto the tracks first, with the other reportedly following in an apparent attempt to help.

Video circulating on social media reportedly shows Chitre and Kaul sitting on the tracks shortly before the train entered the station. The train operator reportedly told supervisors that she saw a man and woman on the tracks but was unable to stop the train before striking them.

Investigators are reportedly examining several possibilities as they try to determine why the pair remained on the tracks as the train approached. Law enforcement sources have said investigators are looking into whether intoxication or disorientation may have played a role. Su*c!de has also reportedly not been completely ruled out, although authorities have not announced evidence establishing that as the cause, and no su*c!de notes were reportedly discovered.

For those who knew Chitre and Kaul, the circumstances surrounding their deaths have been especially difficult to comprehend.

The two were longtime friends who shared connections through New Jersey’s South Asian community and later attended Rutgers University together. Both graduated in 2024 and had already begun building successful careers.

Chitre graduated from South Brunswick High School in 2020 before earning a bachelor’s degree in public health with a minor in business administration from Rutgers in 2024.

She was working as a quality operations specialist at Acadia Pharmaceuticals and had recently taken another major step toward her future: In August, she began pursuing a Doctor of Pharmacy degree at Temple University’s School of Pharmacy.

Kaul graduated from Sayreville War Memorial High School in 2020 and earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from Rutgers Business School in 2024. He had been working as a financial data analyst at Bloomberg since May 2025.

Friends and neighbors described the deaths as shocking and out of character for two young people who appeared to have so much ahead of them.

One person whose son was friends with Kaul said the two belonged to the same circle of friends and shared cultural celebrations and experiences throughout their lives.

Another neighbor described Kaul as someone who appeared to be doing everything right in life, expressing disbelief that two successful 24-year-olds with their futures ahead of them could suddenly be gone.

Approximately 100 pᴀssengers were reportedly evacuated from the subway train following the fatal collision.

The NYPD investigation remains ongoing, and authorities have not yet publicly determined why Chitre and Kaul were on the tracks in those final moments.