Mary Esther man killed by subway in New York City

A 23-year-old Fort Walton Beach High School graduate died Thursday morning after he was struck by a subway train in New York City.

Bobby LeGrand Guin was waiting at the Central Park West station around 5:15 a.m. to head back to his home when the accident happened, according to his grandmother, Eileen Guin.

Multiple media outlets have stated Guin jumped down on the tracks to retrieve cash and was struck by the northbound “A” train, but authorities have told the family the investigation is still ongoing and they aren’t certain how he ended up on the tracks.

“There is no indication that he jumped onto the tracks,” Eileen Guin said. “...What went viral on the news is unbelievable ... There wasn’t a real eye-witness and he wasn’t one to carry cash on him — he used a credit card for everything.”

Guin moved to New York City last November at the urging of some friends who are attending school at Columbia University, she said.

“He was thinking he might stay a year,” Eileen Guin said. “It was a good place to make contacts.”

He earned a bachelor’s degree from Florida State University in business research, but was still looking for a job in that field. In the meantime he was able to land a job at a restaurant in the Lincoln Center and was doing well, she said.

“He was just enjoying himself,” Eileen Guin said.

Guin’s mother and younger brother visited with him in the city just last week and said Guin was extremely cautious in the subways because of all the recent incidents in them.

Prior to moving to New York, Guin had spent his whole life in the Fort Walton Beach area and attended Northwest Florida State College before heading off to FSU.

He enjoyed skateboarding and listening to music and was always an excellent student, Eileen said.

Stephanie Thetford, who taught Guin’s pre-calculus and AP calculus classes at FWBHS remembered him as a kind and smart student.

“He always had a smile on his face on his face, just happy go lucky,” Thetford said. “Everybody liked him.”