A straphanger was violently shoved onto the subway tracks in the West Village Saturday by the same man he moments earlier helped climb off the roadbed, police said.
The bizarre altercation kicked off in the West 4th station around 4:45 p.m. when the suspect bumped into his victim, igniting a verbal altercation that quickly escalated to violence, police sources said.
The 34-year-old suspect — who has a lengthy rap sheet — “fell” onto the Southbound A-train tracks during the brawl, the NYPD said.
The victim — also 34 — helped the man back onto the platform, but was rewarded with a punch to the face and a push that put him on the roadbed where his assailant had landed moments earlier.
Fortunately, no trains pulled into the station before a bystander could help the second man to safety, according to police.
Officers who were already in the station rushed to the scene and deployed mace on the instigator.
He was taken into custody and brought to Bellevue Hospital for treatment.
The victim refused treatment.
Charges were still pending Saturday, but law enforcement sources said the suspect had 21 priors to his name — including robbery and assaulting an EMT.