BOSTON — A 19-year-old has died after a tragic accident at Forest Hills Station Saturday afternoon.
According to MBTA Transit Police, two 19-year-olds appeared to be together and were carrying flags representing Caribbean countries when the woman lost her balance on the platform and the male tried to help her.
“The male proceeded to assist her as the woman realigned back on her feet but fell backwards into the empty right of way. The male was who attempting to assist her also fell into the right of way and landed on the electrified third rail. The male was pronounced deceased, and the female was transported to the hospital for treatment,” a spokesperson said.
The father of the young man, Frankey Wright, tells Boston 25 his son, Frankey Wright Jr., was headed to the Caribbean Festival with his girlfriend.
Frankey Wright called his son his “mini me.”
Wright said his son was trying to save his girlfriend and had never ridden the train before. It was also going to be his first time attending the Caribbean Festival.
“My son was a noble young man, and he lost his life trying to save the life of his girlfriend,” he said.
Wright said his son loved his family and had an entourage of siblings who loved him dearly.
“That’s shocking. I don’t know why there aren’t safety precautions in place to prevent something like that from happening,” Mary Nyhus, an MBTA rider, said.
MBTA riders said they were horrified to hear what happened.
“That must have been horrible, I can’t even imagine. I would’ve been- I mean, they must be traumatized literally traumatized,” Robin Nett, another MBTA rider, said.
“It does make me think differently about it... the fact that there are people who could become gravely injured or even die from trying to save someone who fell onto the tracks, that’s just crazy,” Nyhus said.
T riders said they believe more safety measures should be put in place to prevent tragedies like this from happening.
“I’m from New York, so we have like fences in New York so you can’t get on the tracks,” Steven Engeebrethson, an MBTA rider, said.
“Put safety measures in place to kinda make sure that people can’t just fall off. I mean, it could’ve been a kid, it could’ve been anybody, and there’s a lot of kids that go in through here,” Nett said.
“These are people’s lives we’re talking about and no one should feel like their life is in jeopardy just by taking public transportation,” Nyhus said.
“This appears to be a horrific tragedy and on behalf of the Transit Police Department and the entire MBTA organization we express our most sincere condolences to the decedent’s family and friends. Our thoughts and prayers are with them,” Transit Police Superintendent Richard Sullivan said.
According to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, the woman is in critical condition at a local hospital.
Transit police have said foul play is not suspected.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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