Brooklyn man, 57, dies after bag caught in subway doors

MTA reports subway accidents rose 2% in 2025; rate per rider fell

A 57-year-old Brooklyn man died Monday evening after his shopping bag became caught in the doors of a Manhattan-bound A train at the Utica Avenue station in Bedford-Stuyvesant, according to the New York Police Department. Police identified the man as Yaw Boahene, of Brooklyn.

The NYPD said officers responding to a 911 call received at about 6:05 p.m. ET on Monday found Boahene unconscious and unresponsive on the roadbed of the northbound A train.

“Upon arrival, officers were informed that a 57-year-old male was discovered unconscious and unresponsive, on the roadbed of the northbound ‘A’ train. EMS responded and pronounced [the man] deceased [at the] scene. The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death, and the investigation is ongoing,” the NYPD said in a statement.

ABC7, citing investigators, reported that Boahene had been leaving the train when his shopping bag became caught between the doors. He was then dragged backward, pulled between train cars and onto the tracks, according to the outlet’s account.

A witness told ABC7 she had been returning home from school when the incident unfolded and that people on the platform panicked as it occurred.

The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death, and the NYPD investigation is continuing.

According to the Guardian, a similar fatal incident occurred in 2022, when a 20-year-old man was killed after his clothes became caught between the doors of a 1 train at Columbus Circle station in Manhattan during rush hour.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the New York City subway, said customer accidents increased 2% in 2025. However, the agency noted, “ridership grew at a greater rate than accidents,” adding: “As a result, the 12-month rate decreased by 4.7%.”

The death was at least the second reported fatality in roughly four years in which a passenger’s belongings or clothing became caught between subway car doors at a New York City station.