Yaw Boahene, 57, died after becoming caught as an A train left Utica Avenue station during Monday evening’s rush hour.
NEW YORK — Federal investigators are examining the death of a 57-year-old Brooklyn man who was dragged along a subway platform as an A train departed the Utica Avenue station Monday evening, an incident initially reported to involve a bag caught in the train’s doors.
Authorities identified the man as Yaw Boahene. Police said he was getting off the train shortly before 6 p.m. Sept. 28 when he became caught and was dragged as the train moved out of the Bedford-Stuyvesant station. Emergency responders found him unresponsive on the roadbed and pronounced him dead at the scene. While early police accounts and witness reports focused on a shopping bag becoming trapped in the doors, Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials later said investigators had not yet determined exactly how Boahene became caught.
The National Transportation Safety Board announced that it was investigating the incident, adding a federal review to inquiries already underway by local authorities and the MTA. Investigators are expected to examine the train, its door systems, crew procedures and other evidence to establish the sequence of events. The New York City medical examiner is responsible for determining Boahene’s official cause of death.
MTA New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow said onboard camera footage showed Boahene boarding the train at Rockaway Avenue and later getting off at Utica Avenue. The available footage did not show the portion of the platform where he became caught. MTA officials said Boahene was using a cane, carrying a plastic bag and appeared unsteady as he boarded and later exited the train.
Initial reports from police said the bag Boahene was carrying became caught in the closing doors. Other accounts described it as a shopping or plastic bag rather than a backpack. By Wednesday, however, transit officials said investigators were still considering several possibilities, including whether the bag, his cane or another part of his body became caught as the train began moving. Officials had not announced a final determination.
ABC7 New York reported that investigators believe Boahene was dragged alongside about seven train cars before reaching the end of the platform and falling onto the track area. Witnesses described people on the platform shouting as the train continued out of the station. Authorities have said the incident appears accidental, and no criminal conduct had been announced in connection with his death.
The train’s conductor told the MTA that he had been looking at the platform but did not see anyone being dragged, according to ABC7. Both the conductor and train operator were removed from service while the investigation continues, a step the MTA described as standard procedure following a serious incident. Investigators also inspected the train after the death and found no mechanical problem, according to reports.
The train involved entered service in 2024 and had most recently undergone an inspection in July, MTA officials said. NTSB investigators said subway conductors are responsible for observing the platform while doors close and as trains leave stations. The federal investigation is expected to examine whether those procedures were followed and whether equipment or other circumstances contributed to the incident.
Fatal incidents involving riders caught by subway trains are uncommon but have occurred before in New York. In 2022, a 20-year-old man died after becoming caught as a train departed the Columbus Circle station. Another passenger was killed in a dragging incident at the Kew Gardens-Union Turnpike station in 2016. Investigators have not said that those earlier incidents involved the same circumstances as Boahene’s death.
The NYPD, MTA and NTSB continued investigating the Utica Avenue incident as of Thursday. Officials had not issued a final explanation for how Boahene became trapped, and the medical examiner had not publicly announced a final cause of death. The findings of the federal and transit investigations are expected to clarify the circumstances leading to the fatal accident.
Author note: Last updated October 1, 2026.