Wife speaks out after New York man killed in MRI accident after necklace pulled him into machine

Long Island man dies after being pulled into MRI machine by heavy metallic chain worn during allegedly unauthorized entry into the scan room.

A man died in Westbury, N.Y., after being pulled into an MRI scanner at Nassau Open MRI while wearing a 20-pound chain around his neck.

Adrienne Jones-McAllister, said her husband, Keith McAllister, 61, died in her arms after the deadly incident happened last week. 

“The machine snatched him around, pulled him in and he hit the MRI,” Jones-McAllister said to Long Island News 12. “He went limp in my arms.”

McAllister was at the hospital on July 16 with his wife while she was undergoing an MRI scan on her knee. 

She said she asked the technician on duty to let her husband come into the room to help her off the table when the scan was finished. McAllister walked into the room while the scan was in progress.

“I yelled out Keith’s name, ‘Keith, Keith, come help me up,’” Jones-McAllister said. “I saw when he walked towards the table, and I saw when he turned towards me.”

A tech tried to help pull McAllister from the machine. Jones-McAllister said she screamed for help, urging the technician to stop the machine and call 911. Her husband was transported to a hospital in critical condition, but he died the following day.

The Nassau County Police Department confirmed McAllister was wearing “a large metallic chain around his neck,” which his wife said he used for weight training. The chain with a large lock on the end triggered the magnetic pull. MRI machines use powerful magnets to scan bodies; patients are typically asked to remove metal and electrical objects before undergoing an MRI.

Police said his entry into the MRI room while the machine was still active was unauthorized, and the investigation into the incident is ongoing, though no charges have been filed.  

The family of Keith and Adrienne McAllister has set up a GoFundMe page to help raise funds for funeral expenses.