Man dies after being pulled into MRI machine while wearing metal chain

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61-year-old Keith McAllister has died in a tragic accident after being pulled into an MRI machine.

Tragic MRI accident in New York

The fatal incident occurred at Nassau Open MRI, a medical facility in Westbury, as a scan was in progress.

Police said McAllister entered the procedure room wearing a large metallic necklace, which triggered the MRI machine’s powerful magnetic field and led to a “medical episode.” He was transported to a nearby hospital in critical condition and succumbed to his injuries Thursday.

The investigation remains ongoing.

Victim’s wife shares emotional experience

The McAllister’s (Photo: News 12 New York)

McAllister’s wife, Adrienne Jones-McAllister, shared the emotional aftermath and the sequence of events in an exclusive interview with News 12. She said she was undergoing an MRI herself and asked her husband for assistance getting off the scan table after the procedure.

“He came in to help me, and the next thing I knew, the chain around his neck pulled him into the machine,” she said.

“His body went limp”.

“He went limp in my arms and this is still pulsating in my brain,” she continued.

“I haven’t been able to eat or sleep. I just still can’t believe it.”

MRI Safety Guidelines Under Scrutiny

Magnetic resonance imaging machines generate highly detailed images using intense magnetic fields. These fields can instantly attract metal objects, creating serious safety risks if protocols are not followed.

Patients are typically screened for metal implants and instructed to remove jewelry, piercings, and metallic accessories before entering the scan room. They are also asked to change into non-metallic hospital garments.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “Careful screening of people and objects entering the MR environment is critical to ensure nothing enters the magnet area that may become a projectile.”