Video has been released from an onboard camera on the N-Judah train whose door locked on the hand of an elderly woman and dragged her down the platform before causing her to fall onto the tracks.
Yesterday SFist caught wind of the incident, which happened last Friday, and it the latest example of what's apparently a dangerous flaw in the sensitivity of the doors on the new fleet of Muni trains.
Now the Examiner has obtained video from the train showing how the incident unfolded. The woman rushes toward the train as its door is closing and sticks a hand in, presumably to trigger the door to reopen for her. A station agent in a yellow vest approaches her, appearing to scold her and tell her to step away from the train, but her hand is stuck. It then appears that the agent may be trying to get the train operator's attention, but he's too late, and as he turns his back to the woman, the train begins to move. She briefly runs alongside it, gets her hand free, and is then knocked back. She disappears from view, onto the tracks. As the Examiner previously reported via a witness, the woman suffered a "giant gash" on her head, and she was listed in serious condition at SF General.
Muni's acting transit director Julie Kirschbaum tells NBC Bay Area that the new trains remain safe, and all passed inspection by state regulators. Nevertheless, the SFMTA is installing new sensors on the trains' doors.
According to the Examiner, the SFMTA has reportedly installed new sensors on 7 of the 64 new train cars.
NBC Bay Area also notes that the new trains do not have side-view mirrors for train operators the way the old trains do, and operators therefore have to rely on video cameras to see if a passenger like the woman in this incident is stuck.
The issue with the train doors was coupled with news on Thursday that "couplers" that attach the new train cars together have been failing, and therefore Muni has been running only single-car trains with the new cars until the issue is fixed.
Related: New Muni Train Door Trapped Woman's Hand, Dragged And Injured Her