The man who pushed a Bronx dad to his death in front of a D train dodged a life sentence on Tuesday — getting 18 years in a plea deal for manslaughter that sparked outrage from the subway motorman who was at the controls and is still scarred from the incident.
“Is it fair? Absolutely not,” James Muriel, 55, told The Post.
“He deserves the death penalty. He not only destroyed the victim’s life, he also destroyed his family’s life and also destroyed my state of mind,” the 25-year MTA veteran explained.
“I’m still leery when I enter any station, not just 167th Street — any station.”
Kevin Darden, 36, had been charged with murder for the horrific, unprovoked Nov. 16, 2014, attack on 61-year-old Wai Kuen Kwok as the father of two was waiting with his wife at the 167th Street subway station.
The career criminal was facing 25 years to life in prison, but could now be out at age 54 after pleading guilty in Bronx Supreme Court. Under the terms of his deal, he will serve five years of post-release supervision upon his release.
Darden simply answered “Yes” when asked by a judge if he had committed the heinous crime.
His lawyer refused to comment about the case, as did his mother, who was sitting by herself in the courtroom.
Kwok and his wife, Yow Ho Lee, were getting ready to head to Chinatown to go grocery shopping when the ex-con shoved the hard-working Chinese immigrant in front of an oncoming southbound D train without uttering a single word.
“I didn’t see the actual push, but the way that the guy flew in front of my train, he had some type of velocity,” Muriel recalled. “Every time I go to work, I have to relive it.”
Darden — who has been arrested more than 50 times — initially pleaded not guilty and said at the time that he had no recollection of the crime. Surveillance footage showed him casually smoking a cigarette minutes after Kwok was nailed by the speeding D train.
The Bronx District Attorney’s Office had initially offered their plea deal in June, insisting Tuesday that it came after an extensive review of the case.
“After careful consideration of all the facts and evidence, and discussions with the family of victim Wai Kuen Kwok, we determined that a plea to first-degree manslaughter carrying a sentence of 18 years and five years’ post-release supervision was an appropriate disposition in this case,” said Director of Public Information Patrice O’Shaughnessy.