A Boston father of two has died in a horrific escalator incident, with video appearing to show commuters walking past as the emergency unfolded.
Steven McCluskey, 40, was captured on surveillance footage stumbling near the base of an escalator at Davis Station in Boston on February 27, shortly before 5am.
CCTV released by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) appeared to show more than a dozen people passing by as McCluskey struggled. In the footage, one person is seen pausing to look for several seconds before turning away and continuing on.
Investigators say McCluskey lost his balance at the bottom of the escalator, where his coat became caught in the moving mechanism.
He appeared to desperately try to unzip the coat to pull free, but he was unable to release it in time.
As his clothing was drawn further into the machinery, it tightened around his neck, leaving him unable to breathe.
Moments later, he collapsed. The escalator was not stopped until roughly 20 minutes later, when an employee arrived, according to reports.
When emergency responders reached the scene, police said McCluskey was ‘pinned at the bottom of the escalator’.
The police 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 responded also reported that skin from McCluskey’s back had been pulled into the escalator.
At one point, emergency crews believed they might have to dismantle the entire moving equipment to recover his body.
In an interview with NBC Boston, McCluskey’s sister spoke about his struggles 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.
She also said he worked as a carpenter.
“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.”
McCluskey’s mother questioned why no one intervened and why staffing did not prevent the situation from escalating.
“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.”
The agency also emphasized that riders can stop an escalator themselves in an emergency:
“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.
The MBTA said its employees ‘respond swiftly to all emergencies and do everything they can to assist individuals’.
The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office is investigating the incident. Meanwhile, McCluskey’s family has called for the MBTA to ‘take accountability’ for his death.