Overview
- The July 31 incident occurred just after 7 a.m. when a 68-year-old woman with rolling luggage fell and her dress and coat became caught at the bottom of the Davis Square escalator, leaving her trapped and scraped by the escalator combs.
- A fellow rider pressed the red emergency STOP button shortly after the clothing caught and helped remove the garment, and Somerville firefighters cut the clothing and found the woman’s hand stuck in the machinery before she was taken to the hospital with a hand injury.
- Newly released surveillance video of the July 31 episode shows bystanders noticing the woman but not all using stop buttons and it contrasts with February footage of Steven McCluskey’s fall that showed a delayed official response and limited bystander intervention.
- The MBTA is running station safety messages about holding handrails, watching loose clothing and using the STOP buttons and has publicly thanked the rider who stopped the escalator, while investigations and public scrutiny of response procedures remain active.
- The close call has put pressure on the MBTA to review staffing, emergency training and mechanical safeguards at escalator comb plates so future entrapments can be prevented and riders can be freed more quickly.