A woman was hurt when a heavy utility box came down at the Harvard MBTA Station in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Monday, bringing with it a support brace that struck her, MBTA officials said.
Emergency crews responded around 4:30 p.m. to check someone for what was described as minor injuries.
An MBTA spokesperson said a utility box that was attached to a column on the platform slid to the bottom, one of its support braces hitting a rider as it came down. The rider, a woman in her 30s, was taken to the hospital for evaluation.
The area around the column was blocked off while MBTA officials investigate.
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Aerial footage from the scene showed someone being loaded into an ambulance.
There were no impacts to Red Line Service, the MBTA said.
Riders told NBC10 Boston they were shaken up by the incident.
"There's maintenance that needs to be done that hasn't been done, and it's putting people's safety at risk," said Isabel Stewart.
"It's just very scary to me," said Ningjing Ma. "Something that's so big and heavy to actually fall on someone's head."
"I would say it's very terrifying," said Lucy Flamm. "I use the MBTA every single day to commute, it's pretty terrible knowing when you're walking on the platform and you're not sure how secure and safe you are."
This is not the first time something has fallen at this station. In March, an insulation panel came down on the southbound platform, narrowly missing a rider. The whole incident was captured on surveillance footage.
The MBTA said the panel was corroded with water.
More than 100 panels ended up being removed as a precaution, but the agency hasn't said if there's any connection between that incident and what happened Monday afternoon.
"I think it’s completely unacceptable," said Destiny Crowley. "I've had panic attacks walking through the T station since the last piece of weighty material fell from the ceiling."
Crowley comes through the Harvard stop multiple times a week.
"No one should feel afraid to walk around and have no idea, like, 'Am I going to get a concussion, or am I going to get killed?'" she said.
The Federal Transit Administration ordered the T to correct ongoing understaffing and safety concerns last year, but the agency seems unable to shake the problems. Issues range from a fire on an Orange Line train last July to a tragic failure when a Red Line rider was dragged to his death when a train door caught his arm last spring, and many instances in between.
