Man killed after bag stuck in Brooklyn subway doors

A 57-year-old man died at a Brooklyn subway station after his bag became caught in an A train's doors, police say. Yaw Boahene was dragged along the platform at Utica Avenue before hitting a wall and falling onto the tracks. The NTSB and MTA are investigating.

Key Takeaways

• Yaw Boahene, 57, was killed Monday evening at Brooklyn's Utica Avenue station after a blue plastic bag became caught in Manhattan-bound A train doors.
• He was dragged the length of seven cars, struck a wall near the tunnel, and tumbled onto the tracks; he was pronounced dead at the scene.
• The MTA said the train and doors were functioning properly; the conductor and train operator were removed from service pending investigation.
• The National Transportation Safety Board sent a three-member team as questions grow about platform observation protocols and thin-bag door sensors.

What happened at the Brooklyn Utica Avenue station?

According to police and transit officials, Boahene was getting off a Manhattan-bound A train at the Utica Avenue station in Bedford-Stuyvesant during Monday rush hour, around 5:30 p.m. Investigators said he either stumbled or became stuck as he exited. Witnesses said he had been holding a cane and a blue plastic bag.

ABC7 New York reported that his bag became caught in the doors and that he was dragged the length of seven train cars before hitting the wall at the end of the station and falling onto the tracks. A law enforcement source told NBC 4 New York that video appears to show him still clutching the bag as he was dragged, and that investigators are also examining whether the bag caught around his wrist—or whether his foot was trapped between the platform and the car.

The source said the train had already left the station when Boahene fell onto the tracks and he was not struck again. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Officials said the incident appears accidental, though the exact sequence remains under review.

Are door sensors and conductor protocols under scrutiny?

MTA NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow said the agency examined the train and found it was functioning properly, including the doors. What remains unclear, he said, is whether the conductor—who had two and a half years on the job—followed proper protocol to observe the platform while departing.

The conductor told the MTA he was looking and did not see anyone being dragged; he and the train operator have been removed from duty. Crichlow called the tragedy "a very, very rare instance." MTA Chairman Janno Lieber said it was not clear whether Boahene stumbled or the bag became snagged, noting there was no proof yet that anything was attached to him beyond the plastic bag.

Investigators are also weighing whether subway door sensors would have detected such a thin bag—an angle that ties this tragedy to ongoing debates over transit safety technology. For more coverage of emerging systems that reshape public life, see our Future Tech & AI Wonders hub.

Federal investigators from the NTSB arrived Wednesday. It was not clear when a preliminary report might be released.

Have similar subway dragging deaths happened before?

While rare, ABC7 noted similar incidents in the New York City subway: a 20-year-old was killed in a comparable way at Columbus Circle in 2022, and a 51-year-old was dragged to death at Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike in 2016.

Witness Gabriel Broadus, heading home from school, described the scene as horrific and said platform crowds panicked. She argued conductors are supposed to check that riders are clear before departure—and that, from her view, that did not happen. Police have not released station video, and the investigation continues.