Wife of Man Killed in Freak MRI Accident Tearfully Recalls Watching Machine ‘Snatch Him’: ‘He Went Limp in My Arms’

Keith McAllister’s wife, Adrienne Jones-McAllister, was with him when a tragic accident during an MRI appointment claimed his life.

In a deeply emotional interview with News 12 Long Island, Jones-McAllister recounted the horrifying moment the MRI machine “snatched him” and pulled him in by a heavy necklace he was wearing.

“He went limp in my arms,” she recalled through tears. “And this is still pulsating in my brain.”

Emergency responders arrived at Nassau Open MRI in Westbury, New York, shortly after 4:30 p.m. on July 16, following a 911 call reporting that a 61-year-old man — later identified as McAllister — had suffered a “medical episode” after becoming entangled with one of the MRI machines, the Nassau County Police Department (NCPD) said in a statement.

Two days later, police confirmed that McAllister had died from his injuries. According to his wife, he suffered multiple heart attacks following the incident.

Recounting the lead-up to the tragedy, Jones-McAllister explained that she had just finished her own MRI scan for a knee issue and asked the technician to bring her husband in to assist her. Despite wearing a 20-pound chain around his neck, he was allowed into the MRI room.

“In that instant, the machine switched him around, pulled him in, and he hit the MRI,” she told News 12 Long Island.

Jones-McAllister and the technician desperately tried to pull him away from the machine. “I was saying, ‘Could you turn off the machine? Call 911. Do something. Turn this damn thing off!’” she recalled.

MRI safety protocols require patients and anyone near the machine to remove all metal and electrical items before entering the scan area. The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering explains that MRI machines use powerful magnets to capture detailed images of soft tissues and organs.

Jones-McAllister said this wasn’t their first visit to Nassau Open MRI, nor the first time the staff had seen McAllister wearing the heavy chain, which he used for weight training. She claimed staff had previously commented on it, saying, “Oh that’s a big chain.”

Since the accident, she said she’s been struggling to cope with the loss.

“I haven’t been able to sleep, I’m barely eating, I just can’t believe [it],” she said. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around the whole thing. He waved goodbye to me, and his whole body went limp.”

Jones-McAllister described her late husband as a hard-working man, adding simply, “I loved him so much.”

The NCPD confirmed that an investigation into the July 16 incident is ongoing.