On July 16, 2025, Westbury, Long Island, witnessed a harrowing incident. 61-year-old Keith McAllister was fatally injured after he was pulled into an MRI machine. Mr. McAllister was wearing a nearly 20-pound metal chain that he never removed while entering the area with an MRI machine.
The accident has been described as a freak and preventable tragedy. It has also sparked serious concerns about failures of protocols and oversights by technicians present.
McAllister was at the Nassau Open MRI with his wife. He was called in to assist his wife, Adrienne Jones-McAllister. It was her routine knee scan at Nassau Open MRI. Assisting his wife, Adrienne Jones‑McAllister, during her routine knee scan at the center.
It has been reported that the couple and the technician present had a conversation regarding the big chain around McAllister’s neck. It was part of his weight training. Yet, the technician forgot to mention the necessity to remove the chain when entering the scan room.
When McAllister was in the scan room, he came into the machine’s powerful magnetic field. As a result, the chain was quickly pulled toward the scanner, and it pinned McAllister in place.
His wife and the technician desperately tried to free him, but they were unable to do so. They had to call local emergency services, and he remained stuck for nearly an hour on the machine. During this time, he suffered multiple heart attacks. Just as he was freed from the machine, he was transported to the hospital, but he died the next day.
Tragic incident in Long Island: Keith McAllister, 61, died after being sucked into an MRI machine when his metal chain was attracted by the powerful magnet. He had entered the room to help his wife post-scan.
The accident highlights the critical importance of following strict… pic.twitter.com/xs457QSE5v
— Instant Info (@InstantInfo07) July 20, 2025
The incident showed a grave lapse on the part of the technician and the scan center. MRI rooms require the strict removal of all metal. It is due to the powerful magnets on the MRI machine.
Patients are asked to remove even jewelry and a belt. Many scan centers require patients to change into a gown. There are usually no attendants in the room other than when it’s a fidgety or scared child. Even in those cases, mothers are informed of the danger of MRI machines and are required to remove their jewelry.
Multiple outlets such as ABC News and The Guardian have confirmed that the technician knew about the chain from McAllister’s previous visits. Yet she permitted McAllister to enter.
His daughter, Samantha Bodden, has started a GoFundMe account to help cover the burial expenses. In that she has emphasized that media reports are not reporting correctly. She clarified that her father was authorized to enter and that the technician brought him in.
She has refuted the claims that her father knowingly defied the protocols.
McAllister’s wife recalled his frantic scream when he was drawn in. She has also described the moment he went limp in her arms.
Wife of Long Island man killed in freak MRI incident breaks silence: ‘His body went limp’ https://t.co/sqr2TG9asR pic.twitter.com/UyALD0a56t
— New York Post Metro (@nypmetro) July 19, 2025
She claims that she repeatedly begged the technician to shut off the machine and called for help, but there was no response from the technician. It is also under inquiry if the technician left her place while the scan was on.
The entire ordeal is now the subject of an official investigation by local authorities and the New York Department of Health.
As tragic and rare as it is, this tragedy isn’t the first of its kind. Between 2004 and 2008, Pennsylvania recorded 27 projectile incidents involving MRIs. This also included a fatal case in New York in 2021.
The family is now calling for full transparency from Nassau Open MRI and urging federal agencies to re‑examine facility audits and technician training.
