San Francisco - The Muni Streetcar system is under investigation after a passenger got his hand stuck in the door yesterday and was dragged along the platform before the train finally came to a stop just inches from a wall near the tunnel opening.
The accident occurred at 6:00 p.m. at the Embarcadero Station after the unidentified man was trying to board the streetcar. His hand got stuck as the door was closing. Passengers realized what had happened and attempted numerous things to stop the train. They pushed the emergency call button, pulled the cord to request a stop, pulled the emergency release for the door and screamed for the train to stop. It did not stop until one passenger set off the emergency release for another door and stopped the train.
The passenger refused to receive any sort of medical service. After the train stopped, the man appeared to be in shock and "slowly moved back into the crowd, cradling his arm and his hand," said a passenger on the car, Michael Pitalo. Pitalo, 52, has ridden the train for 15 years and has never seen anything like this. "Normally, the door would bounce open and make a screeching sound. This time it did not," he said. Pitalo also described how the train operator came back and yelled at the passengers for pulling the emergency brake. The train, which was westbound, was delayed for fifteen minutes while the brakes were reset.
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Good lead, except I don't think the entire Muni system is under investigation, just this incident. Maybe say: S.F. Muni officials are investigating how a passenger's hand got stuck in a door yesterday, dragging him along....
ReplyDeleteFor the rest, you've got the right info in the right order ... you just need to clean up some AP style and paragraphing issues.
P2: 6 p.m. (not 6:00)
...as (not after) the unidentified man tried to board...
Drop "His hand got stuck as the door was closing." You've already told us this.
Start a new paragraph at "Passengers realized..."
P3: Tighten it up:
The man refused medical treatment. A passenger on the train car, Michael Pitalo, said the man appeared to be in shock and "slowly moved back into the crowd, cradling his arm and his hand." (Normally I'd put the quote attribution after the quote, but you're introducing a new person mid-paragraph, so it helps to identify him first.)
New paragraph: Pitalo, 52, has ridden ...
New paragraph: "Normally, the door ...
New paragraph: Pitalo also described ...
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