Man dies after being pulled into MRI machine by metal chain in freak accident

Transcript

00:00Nassau Open MRI was open on Thursday morning, but patients with appointments tell Fox 5

00:05they were being turned away. They said a machine was broken and they was getting somebody who

00:10could sit. Investigators say a 61-year-old man wearing a large metal chain was hospitalized

00:16following a freak accident. I'm just surprised that they didn't happen. Now, Nassau County

00:23police say a man walked in to assist the patient getting out of the MRI against the discretion of

00:28the tech. Those who work in the area say lights and sirens followed soon after. In the back of the

00:33building, what I saw was the smoking coming out. Orlando Hernandez works across the street. That's

00:39insane. That should never happen. You know, it has to be someone's responsibility. Signage inside the

00:47building warns people not to enter. Investigators are working to figure out how and why this happened.

00:52People we spoke with are wondering the same. I think that they should have had better precautions.

00:58how that even happened. How do you even get to that point? It's really unfortunate. Melanie

01:03Longacre oversees operations across several hospitals in the Northwell Health System. We

01:08went over guidelines for MRI safety. The entire circle you see there, it's called a gantry. The

01:14magnet is inside there. It's huge. It's a big size, as you can see, and it's very, very powerful. Longacre

01:22says the department is one of the most secure and potentially the most dangerous. Employees undergo

01:28intensive annual training and follow a strict multi-zone protocol before anyone gets near the

01:34machine. Zone one is just for awareness that there's an MRI in the vicinity. Zone two is a patient

01:40screening zone where they get screens. Zone three is post-screening zone. Zone four is the actual

01:47magnet room. It's very, very important to be educated and be safe with them. Police

01:52haven't identified the victim, and when contacted by Fox 5 about the incident, NASA Open MRI said

01:59no comment. In Westbury, Long Island, Jody Goldberg, Fox 5 News.