A New York City woman who was attacked by the black man who would later be arrested for shoving an elderly teacher to his death on the subway says she now regrets not working with prosecutors to turn him in.

The 23-year-old woman recounted to the New York Post that she and a friend were on a subway in Manhattan on April 2 when Rhamell Burke approached them trying to talk to them. She said the crazed man stalked them and allegedly yanked her by the back of her head in an attempt to slam her on the ground as well as kicked her friend in the back. Burke was later arrested for the killing of retired teacher Ross Falzone on Thursday after the elderly man was thrown down the stairs.

“He comes up and he kicks my friend in the back, and basically pushes him through the transition of the cars,” the woman recounted in an interview. “My friend freaks out, runs away, and then he grabs me by the head and pushes my head down, trying to like maybe throw me on the ground or something. But I didn’t, I resisted as much as I could. I didn’t fall, and then I immediately opened up the car and then ran towards my friend.”

The two were able to escape from the 32-year-old man, who was later arrested for allegedly pushing retired teacher Ross Falzone to his death at the Chelsea subway station on Thursday.

She did not end up cooperating with prosecutors to bring him in earlier in April. “I regret it 100 percent and I actually feel really bad that a man lost his life,” the woman said. “Maybe a part of me was just like, I don’t want to put another black man in jail, but, you know, at some point, if you are a criminal, you’re a criminal, and he was scary, he was a scary guy.”