Overview
- A rider at the Davis Square MBTA station had a piece of clothing caught as an escalator reached the bottom and was taken to a hospital with a minor hand injury after another passenger pressed the red emergency stop button, which occurred just after 7 a.m. Friday.
- The MBTA and the Somerville Fire Department publicly thanked the person who hit the stop button and helped remove the trapped clothing, and officials say the incident is under active investigation.
- State officials determined that a February death on the same escalator was caused by strangulation after clothing became trapped, and surveillance from that earlier case showed riders walking past and an MBTA employee not using a stop button for more than 20 minutes.
- In response to the February fatality the MBTA launched a safety campaign that tells riders to watch loose clothing, hold handrails, avoid strollers on escalators, and press the red STOP button at either end in an emergency, and advocates say continued outreach and training are needed.
- Clothing can catch between steps and the comb plate at the escalator bottom and pull a person into the machinery, so this near‑miss will test whether public awareness and faster staff or rider response lead to fewer serious injuries or more policy changes.