The wife of a man who tragically died after being sucked into an MRI machine has emotionally described the horrific ordeal.
American Keith McAllister, 61, attended Nassau Open MRI in Westbury, Long Island, New York, on Wednesday (16 July) with his wife Adrienne Jones-McAllister, who was getting a knee scan.
He waited in a separate room while his wife got her MRI done, but he was then allegedly called in to help her up off the table after it had been completed.
In an emotional interview with News 12 Long Island, Adrienne explained how she had called him in to help her, claiming the worker had let him into the room, despite the fact he had a 9kg metal chain around his neck.
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For those unfamiliar, an MRI is a type of scan that uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed images of the inside of the body to diagnose health issues.
The patient will be asked to remove any metal objects from their body before laying down in the large tube to be scanned - this can include piercings, watches, or any jewellery.
Although he was not having a scan himself, Keith came into the MRI room wearing the chain, which he used for weight training, and tragically the magnetic force of the machine sucked him in, leaving him in a critical condition.
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According to Sky News, police said that the incident resulted in ‘a medical episode’ and Keith later suffered a series of heart attacks after he was freed from the machine, before being pronounced dead.
And Nassau County Police Department told the BBC: “The male victim was wearing a large metallic chain around his neck causing him to be drawn into the machine, which resulted in a medical episode.”
Speaking about the awful situation with News 12 Long Island, Adrienne claimed that the worker ‘knew about the chain’ and that he and Keith had ‘had a conversation about it before’.
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She emotionally said: “I haven’t been able to sleep, I’ve barely eaten. I just can’t believe… I’m still trying to wrap my head around the whole thing. He waved goodbye to me and then his whole body went limp. He went limp in my arms.”
Adrienne added: "I yelled out Keith's name, [shouting] Keith, come help me up. At that instant, the machine switched him around, pulled him in, and he hit the MRI.”
The patient said the technician tried to pull her husband away from the machine, but struggled to set him free due to the strong magnetic force.
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She recalled: “I said could you turn off the machine, call 911, do something, turn the damn thing off.”
Adding: “It’s not the first time that guy has seen that chain. They had a conversation about it before.”
According to the Nassau County Police Department, an investigation into the incident is underway.
Tyla has contacted Nassau Open MRI for comment.
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Madison Burgess