New York man killed after bag caught in subway doors, dragged onto tracks

A 57-year-old man died in Brooklyn on Monday after his bag became caught between the doors of a subway train, which dragged him onto the tracks.

Yaw Boahene, from Brooklyn, was leaving a Manhattan-bound A train at Utica Avenue station in Bedford-Stuyvesant when his shopping bag got stuck between the doors. He was dragged backwards, pulled between train cars and onto the tracks.

Police received a 911 call at about 6.05pm and found the man unconscious and unresponsive on the roadbed of the northbound A train. Emergency services pronounced him dead at the scene. The medical examiner will determine the cause of death.

A witness said people on the platform panicked when the incident unfolded.

Subway accidents are rare, but in 2022 a 20-year-old man was killed after his clothes were caught between the doors of a 1 train at Columbus Circle station during rush hour. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said subway customer accidents rose slightly by 2 per cent in 2025, but the 12-month rate decreased by 4.7 per cent as ridership grew faster.

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