Boston dad dies after getting trapped in escalator as commuters walked past
Mia Williams
Featured Image Credit: MBTA
A Boston dad-of-two has died in a freak escalator accident, as commuters could be seen ignoring the tragedy unfolding in front of them.
Steven McCluskey, 40, was seen losing his balance at the bottom of an escalator inside Davis Station in Boston on February 27, just before 5am.
Shocking CCTV footage released by Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) revealed that more than a dozen people had walked passed the struggling man, who later died as he became trapped in the mechanism.
One man could be seen watching on for several seconds before turning his head and continuing on with his commute.
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McCluskey was seen losing balance at the bottom of the escalator, as his coat got caught at the bottom of the moving stairwell.
He could be seen frantically trying to unzip the coat to free himself, though he was unable to do so.
As the 40-year-old's clothes became lodged deeper into the machine, they became tighter around his neck, which left him unable to breathe.
Just moments later, the dad collapsed, but it wasn't until 20 minutes later that an employee arrived to stop the escalator.
When medics arrived, Sommerville police noted that he was 'pinned at the bottom of the escalator'.
Their report stated: "[He was] unresponsive, bare-chested and his clothing was tightly lodged within escalator steps. I immediately assessed McCluskey for a pulse and detected none."
Firefighters who attended the scene also added that skin from McCluskey's back had been pulled into the escalator.
Emergency services stated that they believed at one time they may have needed to dismantle the entire moving walkway in order to free his body from the accident.
Speaking with NBC Boston, his sister opened up about McCluskey's battle with drug addiction in recent years.
"He did his best every single day to show up for the people that he loved in the ways that he could," she said.
The dad-of-two was also a carpenter, his sister added.
"He loved creating things and took satisfaction in seeing a job through from start to finish. Above all, he loved being a father to his two sons, Shayne and Steven, who meant the world to him."
His grieving mother added: "Where was security? Where were the red coats that are supposed to be on all the floors from the time it opens to the time it closes? How, at a busy train station, does nobody stop, nobody see him?"
The MBTA told PEOPLE in a statement, "This was a terrible accident."
"It is important that the public knows that anyone can stop an escalator in an emergency by pressing the red button labeled ‘STOP’ at the top and bottom of each escalator," the organization added.
They noted that their staff 'respond swiftly to all emergencies and do everything they can to assist individuals'.
The Middlesex District Attorney's Office is now carrying out an investigation into the incident, but the father's family have demanded that MBTA 'take accountability' for his death.