On the evening of Wednesday, October 21, an elderly woman was hospitalized after being struck by a train at Haymarket Station in Boston. According to reports from CBSBoston.com and other outlets, the woman was trapped under an Orange Line train and required extrication by firefighters around 9:15 p.m. The victim was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital. The woman is expected to survive.
Reports indicate it is unclear how the woman fell off of the platform, but that she was conscious and responsive during her rescue. The accident suspended service between Back Bay Station and North Station for over an hour.
Unfortunately, this is just the latest in a long line of MBTA-related accidents that have occurred in recent months. Just last month, an MBTA Red Line train hit and killed a man at JFK Station. In February, an MBTA commuter rail train struck a tractor trailer truck in Braintree, MA, injuring one person. That same month, a B Line Green Line trolley was involved in a crash with a dump truck. This January, a safety inspector was allowed to leave the scene after rear-ending a bus with an agency-issued SUV, which left one passenger injured. By leaving the scene, the inspector was able to avoid mandatory drug and alcohol testing.
This was also the second serious accident to occur at Haymarket Station and third Orange Line incident within the past 12 months. On October 29, 2014, a man was struck and killed by an Orange Line train at Haymarket Station. In December 2014, another Orange Line train-related death occurred at the Roxbury Crossing Station.