New fear unlocked. Jesus Christ, how f'ing brutal. Took him 26 days to die.
And that was really shitty of Tri Met to try and keep this out of the media.
TriMet video shows MAX train closing on passenger’s coat seconds before train drags him, leads to his death
TriMet has released video showing the doors of one of its MAX trains
closing on the edge of a coat worn by a passenger as he apparently tried to reboard it, seconds before the train began to move, dragging the man along the train’s platform and tracks. He died 26 days later in the hospital as a result of his injuries.
The public transit agency had
quietly settled a potential lawsuit over the man’s death for $830,300. It then declined to publicly release the video, which The Oregonian/OregonLive sought last month as part of a story delving into what happened and the agency’s plans to prevent such an incident from happening again.
That denial prompted the news organization to appeal to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office. In an order signed by Chief Deputy District Attorney Adam Gibbs, District Attorney Nathan Vasquez ordered that portions of the video that showed Jonathan Ignatious Edwards III stepping off the train and then turning around to try to reboard the train as the doors closed on his coat were beneficial to the public’s interest in understanding what happened. Gibbs wrote that this overrode any privacy arguments made by TriMet, which had said the man’s family asked the agency not to release the video and
public records law allowed it to shield the video from public viewing.
“(T)he public has a clear safety interest in observing the specific interaction between a TriMet passenger and a MAX train that resulted in the passenger becoming stuck,” Gibbs wrote.
“This is an issue of public safety,” Gibbs continued. “Whether or not this portion of the video would unreasonably invade the family’s privacy, I find that petitioner has established by clear and convincing evidence that the public interest requires its disclosure in this instance.”
Edwards’ last known address was listed in as the downtown UPS store. He was 65 and the first person to die by a train dragging in the rail system’s nearly 40-year history, TriMet said. The system has provided hundreds of millions of rides over that span, including
nearly 23 million boardings last fiscal year.
The video shows Edwards — who was dressed in a trench coat, black slacks, black dress shoes and a fedora on his head — stepping off the train at the Beaverton Transit Center about 10:23 a.m. on Dec. 21, 2023. More than half a dozen other passengers had already exited the train. Approximately 24 seconds after the train stops, Edwards takes five steps onto the platform. He then inexplicably turns around and walks toward the train as if he’s trying to reboard.
His right hand, which is grasping part of his coat, reaches toward the train and the doors close on the coat. He tries to yank the coat free, but the train suddenly starts moving and the publicly released portion of the video ends.
Gibbs said TriMet could cut off the video at that point to avoid “inflicting additional trauma on an already grieving family.”
TriMet incident reports state that as the train began to move, Edwards stumbled and then was dragged along the platform and the tracks before the operator brought the train to a halt about 100 yards later.
Spokesperson Roberta Altstadt told The Oregonian/OregonLive last month that the agency conducted an emergency inspection of all MAX train doors immediately after Edwards’ coat was caught to make sure the “sensitive edges” that are supposed to open upon contact with people, clothing or other objects were functioning properly. TriMet determined that they were in Edwards’ case.
It’s unclear how the door’s “sensitive edges” could be functioning and Edwards’ coat could remain stuck in the door.
At the time Edwards was dragged, MAX operators were required to visually check that all doorways were clear before closing the doors and moving the train. A camera and a mirror mounted to the train allows operators to view the doors to determine this.
Altstadt said the agency has since updated its procedures to instruct all MAX operators that if their view is encumbered, they can step outside the train and look. Or they can call TriMet staff and ask them to look at video captured by cameras at the station and give the all-clear.
In light of Edwards’ death, TriMet said in its statement last month that it “remains dedicated” to safety and “will continue to work diligently in providing safe and reliable transit service for our region.”
TriMet’s payment to Edwards’ family — the highest amount
Oregon law allowed against a government agency like TriMet at the time of the incident — only came to light last month after Edwards’ family filed a $9 million lawsuit against Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.
After his initial injury at the transit center in December 2023, Edwards was paralyzed from the neck down and died an agonizing death in January 2024, due to the hospital’s negligence, the suit claims.
A spokesperson for Legacy declined to comment on the lawsuit.
TriMet fought the public release of the video, but the Multnomah County DA’s Office ruled portions of it must be made public.
www.oregonlive.com
