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Orange Line train hits somebody at Chinatown

The Orange Line inbound is shut down this morning between North Station and Back Bay as emergency responders deal with the situation. The person was still alive when taken off the tracks for transport to a local hospital.

At 9:28 a.m., Gareth K. reported: reports:

Just got off the orange line which from what we could tell hit something in the tracks, emergency crew there within minutes.

The T is telling riders to get off at Back Bay and walk over to Copley for inbound service on the Green Line.

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Comments

Multiple #MBTA Transit PD responding to an #OrangeLine medical emergency on the northbound side. Missed location.
9:14 AM - 14 Jul 2014

#MBTA U/D: person jumped in front of a #OrangeLine train as it was approaching, is somewhere between train and 3rd rail. They are ALIVE.
9:15 AM - 14 Jul 2014

#MBTA U/D: train being evacuated, power is being shut down in the area. PD requesting witnesses.
9:17 AM - 14 Jul 2014

#MBTA U/D: EMS about to enter the pit, waiting for power cut to be tested.
9:23 AM - 14 Jul 2014

#MBTA U/D: person recovered from the pit. Unknown how quickly service will resume.
9:29 AM - 14 Jul 2014

#MBTA U/D: person from Chinatown #OrangeLine incident loaded into ambulance conscious and alert.
9:35 AM - 14 Jul 2014

#MBTA U/D: Power restored. Dispatch has cleared the train involved in the incident to move out.
9:39 AM - 14 Jul 2014

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The victim was an unidentified 28-year-old female.

Also, taken to MGH, not Tufts. Contrary to what Adam -- and probably many others -- would have assumed.

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Kinda makes you wonder how the destination hospital is determined, considering Tufts was right above their heads.

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In my brief experience, it seems to be the ambulance crew that makes the call — unless the sufferer is alert and insistent. Do the ambulance companies get, in effect, commissions from hospitals?

For an example, when I badly broke a leg and ankle, and clearly would need serious surgery, they said their default was Faulkner. I objected and said Brigham's, where they went.

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I thought ambulances radio ERs to see who has more room, surgeons on call, etc

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Rather than get into an "arms race" with the ERs, they specialize. It is all a short distance, but if the MGH ER has a specialty relevant to the injuries suffered, they will get the patient.

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Are you going to go visit them in the hospital or send flowers?

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You don't wonder why they went clear across downtown instead of one block away?

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Could be Tufts ER was full. Could be MGH is more able to care for that kind of injury. Maybe the person asked to be taken there.

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The incident happened at the Chinatown station, which is inconveniently between Tufts and MGH, so I suspect the traffic patterns played a large part in the decision. Easier to get from Chinatown to MGH going around the park, than going all the way around and back towards Tufts.

Source: I was on the front car and saw the whole thing happen.

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I was on third car and we just got ushered out of train and they were looking for witnesses? Did she fall?

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really saw what happened, and were noticeably shaken by the incident. Although, from what I heard a couple of them say, they didn't seem to think it was an accident.

It happened right at the tunnel entrance to the station, which historically is a location indicative of suicide.

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"all the way around" you mean up essex and right onto harrison? I appreciate your apathy but not your geography. I think its a valid inquiry as to how the destination hospital is determined.

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I was considering traffic, rather than actual geographic distance, but I accept your reasoning.

I inquired with a friend in 911-dispatch whom said it has to do with triage. The EMT calls dispatch to provide the level of care required, and dispatch will inquire with any ER within a radius adequate to the severity of the emergency, to see whether they can handle it.

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*hand raised

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Do you mind? Did we wake you from your slumber?

Some of us are curious about why people do things and how things work. Some of us are actually interested in the world around us.

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Media reports had it wrong - the person who was injured actually was brought to Tufts Medical Center.

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Do you have a source for this? Transit PD explicitly said over the radio that the ambulance was heading to MGH and an officer was sent to MGH to watch/question her.

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The Brigham has a couple of burn beds, but MGH has the only dedicated burn unit in town for adults. More precisely, the only one in the region.

If she was unlucky enough to end up between train and third rail, she'll probably need burn care. Even without obvious burns, large amounts of electricity can do very weird things and can even cause internal burns without causing very obvious external ones. Hoping she recovers well.

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Thank you, I think this may potentially give reason to what some of us were wondering.

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"Brigham and Women's Hospital is verified as an adult burn center by the American Burn Association and the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma."

http://www.brighamandwomens.org/Departments_and_Services/surgery/service...

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