Articles Posted in MBTA Accident

Yesterday morning, an 82-year-old woman from Dorchester, Massachusetts died on an escalator at the MBTA’s State Street station. Helen Jackson was on her way to an eye doctor’s appointment around 10am when the escalator accident occurred.

According to MBTA officials, she was leaving the Orange Line platform, almost at the top of the escalator, when she fell, catching a piece of her clothing in the escalator. Jackson suffered a cardiac arrest, but it was unclear whether that occurred before or after her fall.

Though rescue crews rushed to her aid, she was pronounced dead at Massachusetts General Hospital. The accident is under investigation, and authorities plan to perform an autopsy.

The Boston Globe reports that another MBTA escalator accident occurred in 2005, when a 34-year-old from East Boston died at Porter Square Station on the Red Line. The man’s sweatshirt got caught a gap in the escalator’s machinery and the moving stairs pulled the hood taut around his neck.

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission states that there were 11,000 escalator-related injuries in 2007, most the result of falls.

Woman dies in T escalator accident, Boston Globe, February 25, 2009 Continue reading

The Boston Globe reports that the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is struggling to pay down $5.2 billion in debt. The MBTA anticipates that it will have to increase fares by as much as 25 percent, make drastic cuts in service, or lay off employees so that it can pay down the agency’s debt.

One of the key spending issues is the MBTA’s pension and healthcare coverage. This fiscal year, the agency will pay more than $385 million on employee salaries and $170 million fringe benefits. The agency may have to cut services such as the commuter bus and the suburban bus subsidy. Many hope that in light of several MBTA accidents in the past year that the agency will continue to take appropriate safety precautions and train its employees on accident prevention.

These possible cuts come during a time when ridership is reportedly declining. According to an article in the Boston Herald, weekday T ridership was down 1.5% in December compared to December of 2007. Officials attributed to the drop in ridership numbers to declining gas prices and the increasing unemployment.

MBTA faces fare hikes, cuts in service, Boston Globe, February 13, 2009
T ridership boom begins to fall off, Boston Herald, January 31, 2009 Continue reading

In Brockton, an unidentified man was struck and killed by a commuter train yesterday. According to a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, the train was traveling outbound on the Middleborogh/Lakeville Line when the MBTA accident occurred.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

Police said the commuter train accident victim and another unidentified man were driving around the tracks on a quad runner vehicle. The pair stopped to use the restroom, and the victim climbed onto the tracks, where he was struck and killed. Although police questioned the other man, no charges were filed as of Sunday evening. The fatal train accident is under investigation.

Man killed in train crash, Boston Herald, February 16, 2009
Man killed by commuter rail train in Brockton, Patriot Ledger, February 16, 2009 Continue reading

The Boston Globe reports that the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is adding defibrillators to its commuter trains in case of passenger heart attacks. Last week, MBTA officials said that thirty cardiac machines have already been installed and the MBTA plans to outfit its entire fleet of trains by the end of the spring. The MBTA is also training its conductors and assistant conductors in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillator use.

The installation was urged by Marlene Allen, a Wellesley women whose husband died on a commuter rail train in 2002. The passenger suffered a heart attack and had to wait for medical attention while the commuter train made its regular stops. The train conductor stopped at three different stations during a 20 minute period but there were no cardiac machines on board the train and the conductor did not promptly call for medical help.

As a result of her husband’s death, Allen won a $3.9 million settlement from the MBTA and Amtrak, which at the time had a contract to run the MBTA’s commuter service.

Widow glad MBTA to get defibrillators, Boston Globe, February 3, 2009
MBTA installs defibrillators on commuter rail, Associated Press, February 2, 2009 Continue reading

A 21-year-old Boston College student who was hit by an MBTA trolley in November is improving, according to a spokesperson for Boston College. BC junior Michael Cordo, of Sudbury, was treated for head trauma at Brigham and Women’s Hospital after the trolley accident.

The MBTA has confirmed that the driver of the rear trolley car that was involved with the accident tested positive in a drug and alcohol test and has been suspended, but it would not confirm if the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The MBTA maintains that it has a strict zero-tolerance policy for drugs and alcohol use in its drivers.

Another MBTA accident that occurred on November 14 left seven people injured. Both MBTA accidents are under investigation, which can take between four and six months.

Sudbury man hit by T doing better, MetroWest Daily News, December 5, 2008 Continue reading

The Boston Globe reported recently that two members of the MBTA crews connected with recent accidents on the Green Line have tested positive for drugs or alcohol. Neither accident resulted in life-threatening injuries, but testing was part of part of routine accident procedure. Both employees were suspended without pay while the MBTA works through the formal process of dismissing them.

The MBTA would not release the names of the employees in question, and it denied that the positive test results were indicative of a substance abuse problem within the MBTA. According to MBTA officials, the T’s safety regulations are actually more thorough than those mandated by the Federal Transit Administration.

The MBTA’s safety program includes drug and alcohol screenings before hiring crew members and random tests on crew members with safety-sensitive jobs. Both of the employees in question had tested negative during random screenings over the past 13 months.

Both accidents remain under investigation.

2 at T may be fired in crashes, Boston Globe, November 21, 2008 Continue reading

In Brighton, Massachusetts, a Boston College student was hit by a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) train on Monday morning. The trolley accident occurred near Lake Street and Commonwealth Avenue, where the unidentified 21-year old walked in front of an inbound train.

A spokesperson for the MBTA said that the trolley operator attempted to get the pedestrian’s attention by blowing the horn. However, the student was wearing headphones, so these attempts failed to get his attention.

Both the trolley operator and the trolley accident victim were taken to Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The operator underwent routine drug and alcohol tests, while the victim received treatment for head and leg injuries, as well as facial lacerations.

The MBTA bused riders between Washington Street and Boston College stations as they investigated the MBTA accident.

BC Student Hit, Hurt By Green Line Trolley, TheBostonChannel.com, November 17, 2008 Continue reading

This morning around 8:45am, a trolley collision in Boston’s Boylston T station sent seven people, including two trolley conductors, to the hospital. The MBTA accident victims reported neck and pain and were transported to New England Medical Center, Boston Medical Center, and Massachusetts General Hospital.

According to spokesperson for the MBTA, one trolley bumped into a second trolley, causing the two trolleys to hitch together. Both trains contained about 500 commuters, who exited the trolley and walked through the subway tunnel to get to Boylston station.

Although the subway accident did not damage or derail the trains, Green Line service was delayed for several hours. Riders took buses between stations at Arlington and Government Center before regular trolley service resumed just before 10:30am. Investigators say they will examine the tracks, signals, and the behavior of the train operators to determine the cause of the trolley collision.

Trolley collision injures 7, delays Green Line, Boston Globe, November 14, 2008 Continue reading