Dad-of-two dies in horrifying escalator accident as people ignore him
A father-of-two tragically died after a freak escalator accident at a subway station, while bystanders largely failed to intervene.
According to local outlet NBC 10 Boston, Steven McCluskey was heading to a platform at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)’s Davis Station in Somerville, Massachusetts, when the incident occurred earlier this year on February 27th.
Footage of the incident shows McCluskey, 40, riding down the escalator at around 5 am local time. As he nears the bottom, he stumbles and falls, before becoming trapped at the end of the escalator for several minutes.
Several people appear to walk past and use the stairs instead, while others briefly stop to check on him. NBC 10 reported that it took 22 minutes before an MBTA worker pressed the escalator’s emergency stop button and helped McCluskey.
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According to the outlet, McCluskey’s clothing became trapped under the escalator and restricted his airway.
First responders arrived to find he had no pulse, and it then took another 30 minutes to free him from the machinery and transport him to the hospital, where McCluskey died 10 days later, NBC reports.
Sommerville Police noted that McCluskey was 'pinned at the bottom of the escalator'.
Their report stated: "[He was] unresponsive, bare-chested and his clothing was tightly lodged within escalator steps. I immediately assessed McCluskey for a pulse and detected none."
In a statement to PEOPLE, the MBTA said: "This was a terrible accident."
"It is important that the public knows that anyone can stop an escalator in an emergency by pressing the red button labelled 'STOP' at the top and bottom of each escalator," the organisation continued.
"They should also then immediately call 911."
"MBTA personnel respond swiftly to all emergencies and do everything they can to assist individuals and secure the situation," the MBTA added.
After McCluskey was taken to the hospital, MBTA General Manager Phil Eng told NBC 10 that the escalator was inspected by MBTA workers and returned to service, with no mechanical faults found.
"He did his best every single day to show up for the people that he loved in the ways that he could," carpenter McCluskey's sister told NBC Boston.
"He loved creating things and took satisfaction in seeing a job through from start to finish. Above all, he loved being a father to his two sons, Shayne and Steven, who meant the world to him."
His mother added: "Where was security? Where were the red coats that are supposed to be on all the floors from the time it opens to the time it closes? How, at a busy train station, does nobody stop, nobody see him?"
The Middlesex District Attorney's Office is carrying out an investigation into the horrific incident, but the father's family have demanded that the MBTA 'take accountability' for his death.
Tyla has reached out to both the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and the Somerville Police Department for further comment.
Rhiannon Ingle