Overview
- The fatal collision occurred late Thursday night on Sept. 4 when 41‑year‑old construction flagger Moet McCullum was struck by a southbound D train at the 161st Street–Yankee Stadium station and later died at Lincoln Hospital.
- The National Transportation Safety Board dispatched a go team and the New York City Transit Joint Safety Task Force and TWU Local 100 safety team have opened parallel inquiries into the circumstances of the crash.
- An internal MTA account reported that McCullum was setting up warning lights when she was struck and that the train operator said he did not see any lights and proceeded at normal speed, pointing to a likely miscommunication about on‑track warnings.
- The MTA temporarily pulled construction flaggers off tracks for 24 hours for retraining on safety procedures and union leaders said the train crew and workers involved will be offered support as investigators continue their work.
- McCullum’s death is the first on‑the‑tracks fatality since November 2023 and comes after federal findings of a roughly 58% rise in near‑miss events since 2022 which has increased regulatory pressure on the MTA to fix flagging practices and other track safety protocols.