Posted on 03/02/2005 11:21:18 AM PST by ambrose
Man dies when hood caught in MBTA escalator
The Associated Press
March 02, 2005
A 34-year-old man from El Salvador was strangled to death last week when the hood of his sweatshirt became entangled in an escalator at the Porter Square subway station in Cambridge, officials said.
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority officials, who made the Feb. 21 incident public on Tuesday, said MBTA police and state safety investigators have ruled the death an accident.
Francisco Portillo, who lived in East Boston and worked at a Cambridge restaurant, was either sitting or laying down on the escalator when his hood became caught at the bottom of the escalator, officials said.
"If the T believed that this was anything other than an isolated incident, then swift and decisive action would have been taken, accompanied by a public announcement," MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said.
Authorities suspect Portillo was drinking before the accident. A near-empty bottle of Korean whiskey was found in his pocket. Portillo worked as a prep cook at a sushi bar in Porter Square.
"At this point, investigators believe that alcohol was involved in this incident," Pesaturo said.
MBTA Transit police originally received a call at 9:50 p.m. that a man was possibly having a seizure. Bystanders saw him struggle, tried to free him, and hit the emergency stop button. Portillo's hood was too tight around his neck to remove, police said. He was pronounced dead at Cambridge Hospital.
Officials from the state Public Safety Department inspected the escalator and determined there was nothing mechanically wrong with it before the accident.
Public Safety spokeswoman Katie Ford said the death was caused by "human error," and that the MBTA was cleared last week to resume operating the escalator.
I believe "strangled to death" is redundant.
"Authorities suspect Portillo was drinking before the accident. A near-empty bottle of Korean whiskey was found in his pocket."
Yet another reason for me to remain a teetotaler.
"either sitting or laying down on the escalator when his hood became caught at the bottom of the escalator, officials said."
I bet the family sues.
Something similar happened on a DC metro escaltor years ago. A grandmother had her grandkids and the long winter scarf of one got caught in the treds and the child strangled.
I'm lost. How does your HOOD get caught in an escalator? How do you ride an escalator lying down?
Sheesh...doesn't anybody carry a pocket knife anymore?
It is one of the most effective ways to interface with and control your immediate environment in so many ways.
You should have included the öbligatory "Darwin Alert"
Apparently, first you consume a bottle of Korean whiskey.
Well, knock me over with a feather.
And no one had a knife with which to free him. Probably because it's illegal to carry them in Boston. Thanks a lot, libs: You killed this man.
Korean whiskey?
Fermented Kimchi?
The way libs have set about rendering people useless and defenseless is amazing!
Spyderco Delica, fully serrated. Feel naked without it clipped to my pocket. Hate flying now, as a result.
What do they cook in a sushi bar?
Probably because the Dept. of Homeland security has outlawed pocket knives on transit systems. </sarcasm>
"Mocli." Bottled evil.
Escalator danger aside, you'd think Korean Whiskey would be enough of a reason not to drink.
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