Man dies after getting sucked into an MRI machine
A man in New York died after he was sucked into an MRI machine, authorities said.
Nassau County Police Department said that Keith McAllister, 61, was wearing a large weight-training chain around his neck when he entered an MRI room while a scan was underway on July 16 at Nassau Open MRI.
The machine pulled McAllister in by the chain around his neck, leading to injuries. On Friday, police announced that he had died.
McAllister's wife, Adrienne Jones-McAllister, told News 12 Long Island that she witnessed the machine "snatch him up."
"He went limp in my arms, and this is still pulsating in my brain," she said.
Recalling the incident, Jones-McAllister said that she asked the technician to call her husband to help her get up after an MRI on her knee. She said the technician brought him into the room even though he was wearing a 20-lb chain.
When McAllister got close to help his wife up, the MRI machine pulled him in. Jones-McAllister and the technician did what they could to pry him off.
"I was saying, 'Could you turn off the machine? Call 911. Do something. Turn this damn thing off!" she said, adding that McAllister "waved goodbye" before his whole body went limp.
Jones-McAllister said her husband suffered heart attacks after the incident.
She added that this wasn't the first time McAllister had worn the chain at Nassau Open MRI. "They (McAllister and the technician) had a conversation about it before," she said.
On the other hand, police said that McAllister did not have authorization to enter the room.
Nassau police said on Friday that the investigation was ongoing.
A Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or MRI, machine is used for detecting diseases, diagnosis, and treatment monitoring. It uses powerful magnets to obtain an image of what's inside your body.
Metals interfere with the magnetic field of the MRI unit, can cause burns, or become harmful projectiles.
Nassau Open MRI has yet to issue a statement on the incident as of writing.