Man Killed After Bag Gets Caught in NYC Subway Doors
- A 57-year-old man was killed in Brooklyn on Monday after a shopping bag he was carrying became caught between the doors of a moving subway train, according to...
- New York police identified the victim as Yaw Boahene, also referred to in reports as Boahene Yaw, from the East Flatbush neighborhood.
- New York police received a 911 call concerning the accident at approximately 6:05 p.m.
A 57-year-old man was killed in Brooklyn on Monday after a shopping bag he was carrying became caught between the doors of a moving subway train, according to police. The fatal incident occurred just before 6 p.m. at the Utica Avenue station in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.
New York police identified the victim as Yaw Boahene, also referred to in reports as Boahene Yaw, from the East Flatbush neighborhood. Authorities stated that the man was leaving a Manhattan-bound, northbound A train on the A and C line when his shopping bag became stuck in the doors [The Guardian]. Investigators told ABC7 that he was subsequently dragged backward, pulled between train cars, and onto the tracks [The Guardian].
Emergency Response and Investigation
New York police received a 911 call concerning the accident at approximately 6:05 p.m. ET on Monday [The Guardian]. Officers arrived to find the 57-year-old male unconscious and unresponsive on the roadbed of the northbound A train [The Guardian]. Emergency Medical Services responded to the scene and pronounced him dead [The Guardian].
Police stated there was no criminality involved [Ny1]. The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner will determine the official cause of death, and the investigation remains ongoing [The Guardian]. A witness speaking to ABC7 described returning home from school when the tragedy unfolded, causing panic among people on the subway platform [The Guardian]. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority referred requests for comment regarding the incident to the NYPD [Ny1].
Transit Safety Context
While subway accidents are generally considered rare, a similar fatal incident occurred in 2022 when a 20-year-old man was killed after his clothes were caught between the doors of a 1 train during rush hour at the Columbus Circle station in Manhattan [The Guardian].
Data from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which oversees the transit system in New York City, indicates that subway customer accidents experienced a slight increase of 2% in 2025 [The Guardian]. However, the MTA noted that overall ridership grew at a greater rate than accidents, resulting in a 4.7% decrease in the 12-month rate [The Guardian].