Wife's Terrifying Response as Husband Dies in MRI Suction Accident
A Tragic Incident at an MRI Facility
The grieving wife of a man who tragically died after being sucked into an MRI machine in New York has shared her heart-wrenching story, revealing the traumatic moments that led to her husband’s death. Keith McAllister, 61, suffered critical injuries when he was pulled into the machine by his necklace at Nassau Open MRI in Westbury, Long Island. He later succumbed to his injuries, according to local authorities.
For the first time since the incident, Adrienne Jones-McAllister, the woman’s wife, spoke about the harrowing experience. She described how she had an MRI on her knee and needed assistance getting up, so she asked the technician to bring her husband to help her off the table. During an MRI scan, patients and anyone in the room are typically instructed to remove all jewelry and piercings due to the strong magnetic fields generated by the machine.
However, Ms. Jones-McAllister revealed that the technician allowed her husband to enter the room even though he was wearing a 20-pound weight-training chain. She recounted the horrifying moment when she saw her husband walk toward the table and the machine "snatch him" immediately.
As he approached her, she said, "At that instant, the machine switched him around, pulled him in, and he hit the MRI." Tears streamed down her face as she recalled the desperate plea: "I said: 'Could you turn off the machine, call 911, do something, Turn this damn thing off!'"
Her husband went limp in her arms, and the memory continues to haunt her. She described how the technician tried to help pull her husband off the machine but it was impossible. "He waved goodbye to me and then his whole body went limp," she told the TV outlet.
According to Ms. Jones-McAllister, her husband suffered several heart attacks after being freed from the machine and eventually died. She claimed that this was not the first time she and her husband had visited Nassau Open MRI, and that he had worn his chain there before.
She explained, "That was not the first time that guy has seen that chain. They had a conversation about it before." She added that previous interactions included comments like, "Ooooooh, that's a big chain!"
This incident is not the first time an MRI machine has caused a fatality in New York. In 2001, six-year-old Michael Colombini of Croton-on-Hudson was killed at the Westchester Medical Center when an oxygen tank flew into the chamber, drawn in by the MRI's 10-ton electromagnet. In 2010, a lawsuit was settled for $2.9 million.
MRI machines use strong magnetic fields that can exert powerful forces on objects made of iron, some steels, and other magnetizable materials. According to the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, these machines are strong enough to fling a wheelchair across the room.
Nassau Open MRI has not yet responded to requests for comment. The tragic event has raised concerns about safety protocols and the importance of adhering to guidelines to prevent such incidents in the future.