Local News
The MBTA is raising awareness of escalator emergency stop buttons after a Boston man was fatally injured in a freak accident at Davis Station in February.
A commuter used an escalator at the State Street MBTA subway station on March 23, 2019. Craig F. Walker/Boston Globe Staff, File
May 28, 2026 | 3:05 PM
2 minutes to read
MBTA officials are planning a new public awareness campaign around escalator emergency stop buttons following the death of a Boston man who became trapped at the bottom of a T station escalator in February.
Surveillance footage shows several riders passing Steven McCluskey as he struggles to free himself from a Davis Station escalator early on Feb. 27.
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A man died after getting stuck at the bottom of an MBTA escalator. Authorities are still investigating.
T officials said McCluskey’s clothing became stuck in the machinery after he fell at the bottom of the escalator shortly before 5 a.m. A Red Line worker finally brought the escalator to a stop and summoned emergency crews more than 20 minutes after McCluskey fell, but the 40-year-old father of two died just over a week later.
Addressing the MBTA Board of Directors Thursday, General Manager Phil Eng expressed his “deepest sympathies” to McCluskey’s family and stressed the importance of maintaining safe transit.
“Safety is the number one priority, and rebuilding the culture is something that we focus on dearly,” Eng said, later adding, “This is something that we continue to work on, to make sure that all of our users can travel safely and get to their destinations.”
MBTA Chief Safety Officer Tim Lesniak said in a subcommittee meeting last week that the T only recently became aware that McCluskey ultimately died of his injuries.
“We are continuing to review the incident to work through potential mitigations as we see what actually occurred,” he told the Safety, Health & Environment Subcommittee.
While the T has already circulated a video warning riders that their clothes could become caught in escalator steps, Lesniak said the agency is now working on a public service announcement focused on emergency stop buttons.
“Anybody can hit the emergency stop button, which will stop that escalator from moving so that the individual can be cared for,” he explained.
Asked Thursday whether there was anything the MBTA could have done to prevent McCluskey’s death, Eng noted that T crews check each station at the start of service every morning.
“The escalator, from everything I know, was functioning properly,” he added.
Still, Eng also suggested the T might be looking to upgrade its methods of safety monitoring and surveillance.
“While we have cameras throughout the system, we’re not monitoring every single one every second of the day,” he noted. “We do want to continue to message … our riders to please, if they see something, say something. And so many do.”
A spokesperson for the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office previously told Boston.com an investigation into McCluskey’s fall is still open pending a ruling on his cause and manner of death.
“This was definitely an unfortunate incident,” Eng said Thursday. “I can’t fathom what the family is going through, but we’re going to continue to look at how can we improve those types of situations where we’re not necessarily present every [moment], with so much territory to cover.”
Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between.
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