A Brooklyn man died Monday evening after his shopping bag got caught in the doors of a subway train, dragging him down as he tried to exit at the Utica Avenue station.
Yaw Boahene, 57, was leaving a Manhattan-bound “A” train in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood when the incident occurred around 6.05pm ET, according to New York police. Investigators told ABC7 that the bag became stuck between the train doors, pulling Boahene backwards and trapping him between train cars before he was dragged onto the tracks.
Officers who arrived at the scene found Boahene unconscious and unresponsive on the roadbed of the northbound train. Emergency medical services pronounced him dead at the scene, police confirmed in a statement.
The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner will determine the exact cause of death, and the investigation is ongoing.
A witness who spoke with ABC7 said she was returning home from school when the accident happened, causing panic among people on the subway platform.
Subway accidents in New York City are rare but not unheard of. In 2022, a 20-year-old man was killed when his clothes were caught between the doors of the 1 train at Columbus Circle station in Manhattan during rush hour.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which manages the city’s transit system, reported a slight increase in subway customer accidents so far in 2025, rising by 2%. However, the MTA noted that ridership has grown at a faster rate than accidents, resulting in a 4.7% decrease in the accident rate over the past 12 months.
Boahene’s death adds to ongoing concerns about safety on New York’s subway system, which carries millions of passengers daily. The investigation will look into the circumstances that led to the bag getting caught and whether any safety measures could have prevented the tragedy.
According to Joy Online.
