A 61-year-old man died after being violently pulled into an active MRI machine in Long Island while wearing a heavy metal chain around his neck, police and his wife confirmed. The tragic incident occurred Wednesday at Nassau Open MRI, where the man entered the scan room while the machine was in operation.
According to a statement from the Nassau County Police Department, the MRI’s powerful magnetic field attracted the 20-pound weight-training chain worn by the victim, drawing him forcefully into the machine. He suffered severe trauma and died Thursday afternoon.
Authorities have not yet released the victim’s name, but his wife, Adrienne Jones-McAllister, identified him in an emotional interview with News 12 Long Island as Keith McAllister.
Wife Describes Horrifying Moment
Jones-McAllister was undergoing a knee scan when she asked a technician to call her husband for assistance getting off the MRI table. She recalled that the technician summoned Keith into the room—despite him wearing the heavy metallic chain they had joked about during a previous visit.
“Ooooooh, that’s a big chain!” she recalled the technician saying on an earlier occasion.
But as Keith approached her, disaster struck. “At that instant, the machine switched him around, pulled him in, and he hit the MRI,” she said through tears. “I screamed, ‘Turn off the machine! Call 911! Do something!’ He went limp in my arms.”
She said she and the technician tried to free him, but the magnetic force made it impossible. “He waved goodbye to me… and then his whole body went limp,” she said. McAllister reportedly suffered multiple heart attacks after eventually being pulled away from the machine.
No Comment from Facility
Nassau Open MRI declined to comment on Friday, and calls went unanswered on Saturday. The investigation into how McAllister was allowed into the MRI room wearing metal is ongoing.
Not the First MRI Fatality in New York
This isn’t the first fatal MRI-related incident in the state. In 2001, 6-year-old Michael Colombini was killed at Westchester Medical Center when an oxygen tank was pulled into the MRI chamber by the machine’s powerful magnetic field. His family later settled a lawsuit for $2.9 million.
MRI Machines: Powerful and Potentially Dangerous
According to the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, MRI machines create strong magnetic fields capable of exerting intense force on metal objects. “They are strong enough to fling a wheelchair across the room,” the agency warns, adding that the magnets can be deadly if proper safety protocols are not followed.
The death of Keith McAllister raises serious questions about MRI safety procedures and oversight, especially regarding patient screening and access during active scans.
