NYC subway passenger dies in Brooklyn when bag gets caught in train doors, police say
A man was dragged to death by a subway train in Brooklyn earlier this week after his shopping bag got caught in the doors, police said.
Officers responded to the emergency call just after 5:40 p.m. Monday. Yaw Boahene, 57, was heading northbound on an A train when his bag got caught while he was exiting the train.
Police said he was dragged onto the tracks at the Utica Avenue station and pronounced dead at the scene.
Gabriel Broadus, 17, witnessed the incident.
"I turned around, and there's a man, like, almost dangling from the train," she said.
She says bystanders yelled in an attempt to stop the train as she dialed 911.
"When I was on the phone, the train was already moving. I couldn't see the train anymore," she said.
Police said they do not suspect criminality, but what happened before that train moved remains unanswered.
The NYPD initially said the man's backpack got caught in the doors, but later revised that.
The MTA has not released findings from Monday's incident, but has confirmed that the conductor and motorman of the train have been removed from duty pending the results of an investigation.
Transport Workers Union Local 100 declined to comment.
A similar incident happened in October 2022. A 20-year-old man from New Jersey died after his clothes or backpack got stuck in the door of a 1 train at the Columbus Circle station.
CBS News New York asked transportation accident attorney Andrew Maloney what checks are supposed to happen before a train pulls away.
"They're in the cab in the center of the train, so they can look at both directions. They have the ability to issue an emergency stop of the train. They can also reopen the doors to let somebody who's caught be uncaught, and they also communicate with the engineer who is driving the train," Maloney said.
Using the R211 subway train as an example, Maloney was asked if a conductor can actually see that something or someone is caught in the doors, and if there is a safety feature associated with these types of cars that could detect if something is wrong.
"As you may be familiar, when you ride the subways, they can close on a person and not bounce back like an elevator door," Maloney said.
Riders want to know what went wrong and what will prevent it from happening again.
"That was crazy. That was insane. I feel bad for him," Shaniece King said of the victim.
"My condolences for the family. I am so sorry. I can't imagine the pain," Broadus said.
Broadus says she's not sure she feels safe on the subway anymore.
"I feel like after seeing something like that, that's sort of something that you can never come back from," she said.
