It is the ultimate urban nightmare, wrapped in the chilling indifference of a morning rush hour.
As dawn broke over the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) Davis Station on February 27, a routine commute morphed into a horrific, fatal trap for 40-year-old Steven McCluskey. Yet, what has left his grieving family shattered isn’t just the freak mechanical accident that claimed his life—it is the twenty-two minutes of recorded human apathy that preceded his rescue.
“How, at a busy train station, does nobody stop, nobody see him?” asked his mother, Mary Flaherty, her voice echoing the disbelief of a family searching for answers in the wake of an unthinkable tragedy.
Captured on Camera: 22 Minutes of Indifference
According to local reports from NBC 10 Boston and the Boston Globe, surveillance footage from the station captured the grim sequence of events starting around 5:00 a.m. local time.
McCluskey was riding the escalator down toward the subway platform when he stumbled and fell near the bottom landing. What followed was a prolonged nightmare. Trapped at the base of the moving stairs, McCluskey lay helpless for several minutes.
The security footage paints a damning portrait of modern commuter detachment. As McCluskey remained pinned, multiple transit riders walked past. Some looked and opted for the adjacent stairs; others paused briefly to peer at him before continuing on their way.
It wasn’t until a staggering 22 minutes had elapsed that an MBTA transit worker finally intervened, pressing the escalator’s emergency stop button. By then, the damage was done.
The mechanics of the escalator had turned lethal. McCluskey’s clothing had become ensnared underneath the machinery, constricting around his neck and completely cutting off his airway. When first responders arrived at the scene, they found McCluskey with no pulse. It took emergency crews another 30 minutes to painstakingly extricate him from the metal treads and rush him to a nearby hospital.
He survived for ten days before succumbing to his injuries.
A System Under Scrutiny
In the wake of the tragedy, the MBTA issued a statement defending its protocols while acknowledging the severity of the event. “This was a terrible accident,” the transit authority stated, using the opportunity to remind commuters of their own agency in crisis situations.
“It is important that the public knows that anyone can stop an escalator in an emergency by pressing the red button labeled ‘STOP’ at the top and bottom of each escalator. They should also then immediately call 911.”
The agency maintained that its personnel “respond swiftly to all emergencies” and take all necessary measures to secure scenes and assist riders. MBTA General Manager Phil Eng also expressed his condolences, calling the incident “disheartening” and a “tragedy,” while reaffirming that “safety, reliability of the system, is paramount.”
However, records obtained by NBC 10 reveal that an MBTA inspector had clocked in at 4:45 a.m., just fifteen minutes before McCluskey fell. When questioned about the delay in aid, Eng explained that the employee was occupied with a lengthy, mandatory checklist designed to prepare the station for the morning rush.
Following the incident, the escalator was thoroughly inspected by MBTA mechanics and returned to service after it was determined there were no mechanical defects or malfunctions with the unit itself.
“Where Was Security?”
For McCluskey’s family, the official explanations offer little comfort. They remember the 40-year-old as a man who “loved building things” and, above all, “loved his children and loved being a dad.”
Now, his mother and his sister, Shannon Flaherty, are demanding accountability from the transit system, questioning the visible absence of station oversight during the critical window when McCluskey was suffocating.
“Where was security?” Mary Flaherty asked, pointing to systemic gaps. “Where were the red coats that are supposed to be on all the floors from the time it opens to the time it closes?”
As the family continues their agonizing search for answers, local law enforcement has remained quiet. The Somerville Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the investigation.