Sheinelle Jones Was 'Trapped' on Dark New York City Train After Falling Asleep for 2 Hours, Tried to Pry the Doors Open
Sheinelle Jones Was 'Trapped' on Dark New York City Train After Falling Asleep for 2 Hours, Tried to Pry the Doors Open
Rachel McRadyMon, April 6, 2026 at 3:38 PM UTC
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Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle JonesCredit: NBC -
Sheinelle Jones fell asleep on a train and woke up alone in New York City’s Moynahan Station after midnight
Jones tried unsuccessfully to escape before calling 9-1-1 and being rescued by two police officers
She recounted the story on Monday, April 6, on Today with Jenna & Sheinelle
Sheinelle Jones found herself in quite the predicament during a recent train trip from Philadelphia to New York City.
The Today with Jenna & Sheinelle co-host and mother of three was on her way back home after a tiring day in her hometown of Philadelphia, when she drifted off on the train.
“I got a little sleepy because I’d had a long day, and I fell asleep,” Jones, 47, shared of the train ride during the Monday, April 6 episode. “You stop moving but you feel like, you know, it’s probably because it’s not time and we’re not in Moynahan, we’re not in New York City.”
However, when Jones woke up from her ill-timed nap, she was alone on a dark train in New York’s Moynahan Station. She was scheduled to arrive around 10 p.m. When she woke up in her train seat, it was 12:20 a.m.
“So you’d been asleep for two hours underground?” co-host Jenna Bush Hager asked.
“For two hours in the depths of New York City,” Jones shared. “Let me tell you something. There was no one there.”
Sheinelle Jones opened up about her train experience on Monday, April 6.Credit: NBC
Bush Hager marveled at the fact that none of the train’s passengers or staff bothered to wake Jones, calling it a “nightmare” scenario.
Jones said she walked through the dark train searching for anyone who could help her.
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“I went all the way down, like, surely I’ll find a conductor,” Jones shared, adding that when she didn’t come across anyone, she decided to exit the train. “I thought, ‘No problem, I’ll just push the exit thing.’ So I go over to the door. I’m like, ‘There’s a red button,’ oh, it’s not opening. Then I try to pry the door open. And then it hits me after a few minutes, like, oh, I’m stuck on the train.”
Jones, who is a single mom to 16-year-old Kayin and 13-year-old twins Uche Jr. and Clara, noted that her kids didn’t reach out when she didn’t come home.
“That’s another thing! I’m like, why didn’t anybody care? Like, ‘Mom, where are you?’ ” Jones quipped.
Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones discuss Jones' disastrous train trip on 'Today with Jenna & Sheinelle.'Credit: NBC
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The journalist noted that her attempt to escape from the train left her with a bruise on her finger and feelings of panic, causing her to finally call 9-1-1. When the operator answered the phone, Jones said she intentionally stayed calm.
“You know how sometimes you hear 9-1-1 calls? I was so worried that you guys would hear this call, so I was like, ‘Hi, this is weird,’ ” she repeated, sounding even keeled. “She goes, ‘Okay, stay right there,’ which, where else am I going? Then I felt like a toddler. I was like, ‘Will you stay on the phone with me?’ ”
Two police officers helped Jones off the train, even asking to snap selfies with her. When she finally arrived home hours later, she said that her kids didn’t realize anything was wrong.
“I got home and I thought it was gonna be like, ‘Mommy, where have you been?’ They were up playing video games, like, ‘Hey, Mom!’ ” Jones quipped.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
