Articles Posted in MBTA accident

A Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority employee fell down 30 feet into a concrete shaft below the tracks at the Charles/MGH Red Line Station in Boston early this morning. Identified as Edward Rowe, 46, of Haverhill, the employee has worked for MBTA since he was 18 years old.

According to officials, the accident happened around 4:30 a.m. this morning. Rowe, an electrician for MBTA, was shutting off the power to a Red Line rail at the station. He was walking on a plank of plywood that was being used to cover up the deep shaft and subsequently fell through the hole as the plywood gave way. Rowe was stuck for hours before Boston firefighters were able to lift him to the surface around 8 a.m.

A fire department spokesperson, Steve MacDonald, said that, “The only way to get him out was to hoist him straight up…It’s very tough, confined conditions.” Firefighters ended up rigging a pulley system and lowered a firefighter down to where Rowe was trapped so that he could evaluate Rowe and attach him to a safety harness in order to pull him out. After having to adjust the safety harness so that Rowe was not in too much pain, firefighters eventually were able to safely pull him out.

Rowe is now in critical condition at Massachusetts General Hospital where he is reported to have two broken legs. After this early-morning workplace accident, the MBTA General Manager, Richard A. Davey, requested that all plywood used as shaft covers be removed and replaced with metal shaft covers.

If you have been injured at work, our Boston workers’ compensation lawyers can help you explore your legal options with advice and a free consultation.

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Boston firefighters save MBTA worker who fell 30 feet , Boston Globe, March 30, 2011 Continue reading

In Boston, Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) officials say the agency has suspended several bus and trolley drivers for texting or talking on their cell phones while on the job. Since May 28, when a trolley crash in Newton killed a driver, the MBTA has suspended nine employees. Their suspensions range from three to ten days, which is the maximum punishment short of termination.

A train accident in California last month reminded the public of the dangers of distracted train operators. Federal investigators went public with their finding that a train operator had sent a text message just 22 seconds before he collided with an oncoming train, killing 25 people. Last week, a Green Line trolley operator lost his job after he was captured on camera with his son and nephew at the controls of the train.

Rene Mardones, a community organizer for the T Riders Union said he agrees with the MBTA’s decision to crack down on cell phone use. “It’s going to improve the performance of the drivers because they’ll be more focused on what they’re supposed to do.”

T suspends 9 drivers for using phones, Associated Press, October 3, 2008
MBTA suspends 9 for cell phone use, Boston Herald, October 3, 2008 Continue reading

MBTA transit police are investigating a bus crash that occurred last Monday in Lynn, Massachusetts and left John Pappas, of Lynn, with serious leg injuries. The 48-year-old man was struck by an MBTA bus and was listed in stable condition (as of last week) at Massachusetts General Hospital. Doctors performed emergency surgery after the bus accident.

Soon after the 2:34 pm accident, Pappas’ loved ones arrived at the scene. They found debris, including the clothes and shoes of the victim, strewn on the street next to a parked car.

Lynn Police and Transit Police questioned he bus driver, Ceferino Rosa, also of Lynn, as well as passengers who were riding the Route 436 bus from Liberty Tree Mall in Danvers to Central Square in Lynn. The bus accident occurred on a side street that runs between Chestnut Street and Ford Street in Lynn. The bus had taken a detour, since Chestnut Street was closed in directions for construction.

Police blocked off the street late into the evening of last Monday so they could examine the scene of the accident.

Police identify bus crash victim and driver, The Daily Item, August 13, 2008 Continue reading

Less than a month after a train accident on the D-line in Newton killed train operator Terrese Edmonds, 24, the MBTA has suspended another driver on the Green Line. The driver reportedly fell asleep at the wheel and will not be allowed to return to work until passing a “fitness of duty examination.”

Boston magazine first reported on the safety issue in June when an employee and several people noticed a trolley driver drifting off to sleep on the C line. Several passerby attempted to report the incident and the customer service representative, who was later reprimanded, dismissed their concerns.

Min Perry, 37, of Wellesley, who was trapped in the wreckage and injured in the May 28 crash on the D-line, has filed a lawsuit against the MBTA. Since that D-line accident, a Needham commuter rail train fatally struck a 15 year old boy in Roslindale last week. In addition, a 79-year old Newton man was killed and a 52-year old Wellesley woman was seriously injured in a three-car train crash in Coolidge Corner on Thursday, June 12.

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