Watch CBS News

Woman Charged After Releasing Crickets On Subway Car

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A woman has been charged after letting crickets and worms loose on a D Train in what she said was a piece of performance art.

Actress Zaida Pugh was charged with misdemeanor reckless endangerment, among other counts.

She is accused of causing panic by setting the insects and worms free inside a subway car on Wednesday of last week.

Video showed a woman in an apparent state of panic as she released the crickets and worms. She is also seen apparently vomiting and urinating in the train car.

Pugh later said it was all performance art and the bugs were just a way to grab people's attention.

"I just wanted to do a video of what the homeless people go through and how we look at them," Pugh told CBS2's Ali Bauman in an exclusive television interview.

Art or not, Pugh's stunt freaked out a lot of straphangers. In the chaos, someone pulled the emergency brake and the train came to a screeching halt on the Manhattan Bridge, where it ended up stuck for half an hour.

Passenger Ezra Mechaber tweeted: "Woman just let crickets out on the D Train as we went over the Manhattan Bridge. Panic ensued. Someone pulled the E-Brake. Stuck. New York.

Another rider, John Ray, posted to Facebook: "We had no idea what was happening, just heard yelling, then screaming, then something flew in the air."

"I feel sorry with some things, like how it went," Pugh said. "I didn't want it to go so drastic."

But Pugh said it could have been worse. She almost brought roaches onto the subway.

"I think it would have been way worse if I'd have the roaches," she said.

Pugh said officers took her to the hospital in handcuffs to get her checked out. As for her acting, she plans to continue with performance art, but said no more bugs.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.