Riders race to save man drug by streetcar, his hand caught in door

Riders race to save man drug by streetcar, his hand caught in door
Rachel Gordon, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, October 4, 2007

San Francisco Municipal Railway is investigating what one witness described as a "horrifying incident" in which a man trying to board a train at the Embarcadero Station got his hand stuck in the closing door and was dragged along the boarding platform until an alert passenger pulled the onboard emergency door release.

The incident occurred around 6 p.m. Tuesday during the evening commute.

Michael Pitalo had just boarded the nearly empty L-line streetcar for a ride home to the Castro. He said he noticed that a man had his hand caught in the door as the car prepared to leave the station.

"Normally, the door would bounce open and make a screeching sound. This time it did not," said Pitalo, a 52-year-old production artist. "As the train began to move, people began to scream in panic as the man ran alongside the train with his hand trapped inside the car. As the train sped up, the man stumbled and was dragged along the platform."

Pitalo said the passengers did everything they could to stop the train: They pushed the emergency call button, pulled the cord used to request a stop, and tried unsuccessfully to pull the emergency release for the door that had trapped the man's hand. That release didn't work.

Pitalo said passengers inside were screaming to stop the train.

Finally, he said, another rider triggered the emergency release for another door on the train, bringing the car to an immediate halt.

"The train stopped, with the trapped man only inches away from the wall of the tunnel opening," Pitalo said. "It was completely terrifying. The man was finally able to pull his hand out, and he slowly moved back into the crowd, cradling his arm and his hand."

Pitalo, who has commuted on Muni for 15 years, said the train operator hurried into the streetcar, "yelling, 'Who pulled the release bar?' We all screamed (that) a guy had his hand caught in the door."

The train had to be delayed as a maintenance worker was called in to reset the emergency brakes. The westbound car resumed service about 15 minutes later, Pitalo said.

Pitalo said the man whose hand was caught appeared to be in shock as he stood on the platform. He said the nine or 10 people on the train who witnessed the incident "couldn't get out of our minds the image of how close to death the man had been."

Muni spokeswoman Maggie Lynch said Wednesday that the incident, including the response of the train operator, is under investigation.

Muni officials noted the occurrence on a daily log. Lynch said the report shows that the victim, whose identity has not been released, refused medical treatment.

As for why the train didn't stop automatically, Lynch said the streetcar doors aren't designed like the doors on an elevator, "where you put your hand in and it opens."

She had advice for Muni riders who see the doors closing and the train about to pull away: "While we realize it's inconvenient to wait for the next train, for your own personal safety, it is best to do so."

Pitalo said Wednesday that he was still shaken by what he saw. "I wish I could find this guy. I just want to know whether he's OK."