3-year-old gets separated from dad at MAX platform
A 3-year-old boy was left stranded at a MAX platform when a door on the train malfunctioned, separating the toddler from his dad.
The incident happened Monday, Nov. 16 at the S.E. Main Street Station.
According to TriMet, as the boy was getting off the train, he pushed the accessible ramp button on the door, causing it to open and then close again to deploy the ramp. TriMet officials say the door should have reopened but it didn't and the father and son were separated. They are investigating, saying the ramp deployment process may have been overridden, causing it to be interrupted. It is unclear what the driver was doing at the time.
A woman who was standing on the platform tried to get the door to open, but couldn't and the train took off. She ended up staying with the boy until his father returned seven minutes later from a returning train.
The father reported that he tried to push the intercom button inside the train to contact the operator but got no response. TriMet officials say it appears there was a malfunction with the intercom.
TriMet says they do have clear protocols for dealing with this type of a situation and once an operator was made aware of what happened, those protocols were followed. TriMet says they have been in contact with the father and did apologize to him. They also gave him two free annual passes.
Note: KATU's Anna Song spoke with the father and TriMet officials on Friday. You can watch her story tonight on KATU News.
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Comments
Submitted by Christopher97202 (not verified) on Fri, 2009-11-20 14:37.
I bet the operator was in too much of a hurry to worry about the accessible door. The train did not "malfunction", operator chose to close the door early and move on.
I can understand the operator's decision since he/she is on the Green Line and probably didn't see anybody in a wheelchair board, so the op probably assumed someone pressed it by accident.
Father could have used the emergency brake, lever is located at every door.
Submitted by Christopher97202 (not verified) on Fri, 2009-11-20 14:38.
I bet the operator was in too much of a hurry to worry about the accessible door. The train did not "malfunction", operator chose to close the door early and move on.
I can understand the operator's decision since he/she is on the Green Line and probably didn't see anybody in a wheelchair board, so the op probably assumed someone pressed it by accident.
Father could have used the emergency brake, lever is located at every door.
Submitted by youwontknow on Fri, 2009-11-20 14:52.
OMG, I bet that father was having a heart attach. Thank you lady, for staying there with the boy. That 7 minutes must have felt like hours.
Submitted by mom-mom (not verified) on Fri, 2009-11-20 16:27.
I had the same thing happen to my son when he was about eight. What I remember was NO ONE on the train tried to help me except a lady with a strong New York accident. I was on the train with my 4 yr old and my 8 yr old was left crying on the platform. The operator wouldn't stop the train and would only let me off at the next stop in Old Town. I picked up my 4 yr old and ran back to find my 8 yr old boy running down the middle of the street toward me crying. No one tried to help except that wonderful lady- all the nice Portland men just looked the other way. This was the worst experience I have had being a mom. It was a nightmare. It still upsets me 10 years later. I think this happens frequently, it just doesn't make the news.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 2009-11-20 14:59.
Huge kudos to the young lady who waited with this youngster. We hear about all of the bad things that happen to kids today - you restored my belief in the kindness of strangers. Thank you for brightening my day!
Submitted by youwontknow on Fri, 2009-11-20 19:00.
Hahaha! Good catch, omgomg. The lengths people will go to when you don't kiss their ass.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 2009-11-20 15:57.
Not to think about suing Tri-Met, but I would rather have my arm chopped off than risking my child being taken away! Or what if no one there to help him? What if he tried to go back to his dad and fell off to the rail track? This could've been much worse!!!Not to blame the dad, but I would be holding a child when I get on/off a train... After all this boy is o.k. , dad is o.k. thanks to this lady! And now Tri-Met has a lot of work to do!!!
Submitted by Teresa (not verified) on Fri, 2009-11-20 21:43.
Yes...They should of given a pass to the young lady that stayed with young boy...
and also a yearly pass to the zoo for all of them.
Not enough recognition given to the hero (young lady).
Not enough scolding to the Tri-Met operator!!!
Submitted by Daniel (not verified) on Fri, 2009-11-20 16:19.
This nearly happend to me and my daughter a few years ago. My family was in town to visit and my grandmother is legally blind. Therefore, it was a bit more difficult than normal to get everyone off of the train. The train was also very busy and several people started to get on the train as we were trying to get off. My daughter stepped off ahead of me and the doors started to close - I freaked! I pushed the door open button, but it did not work. The train started to move and my little girl started to run aside. I pulled the red emergency stop lever and the train stopped. Well that didn't go over well with the operator and she told me off for doing so. I could have cared less whay she thought as this was my child. I learned a very valuable lesson that day; from that day on when entering or exiting the train I physically had a grip on my daughters hand. Now, thinking back it was partially my fault because I didn't have her hand. However, the faulty open door button didn't help the matter. Nor did the operators attitude!
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 2009-11-20 16:38.
Again, if you are physically able, "CARRY" your child on/off a train! Why would you risk? You can't change the consequence, if something happens to your child! And blaming on others (Trimet or operators etc.) wouldn't bring your child back!
Submitted by Kat (not verified) on Fri, 2009-11-20 16:45.
Thank you so much red haired lady-you are so awesome. Parents all over Portland thank you.
As for TriMet-isn't it convenient that both the ramp, door and intercom all "malfunctioned" at the same time? And isn't this one of the new trains?? Way to blame the machines. Pathetic.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 2009-11-20 17:07.
The green line trains are NOT exclusively the new trains.. They are the older versions which have steps to get on.. the older low floor trains and the new ones.. ALL the lines share the same trains.. Not just one particular line gets certain trains..
sorry to burst your bubble on that thought
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 2009-11-20 17:27.
I don't buy the malfunction line - this shoudl be fully investigated. I agree that he should have pulled the emergency brake, but as a father of two, I'm not sure I would have thought of that in that moment. Glad it was a happy ending
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 2009-11-21 02:19.
I don't believe the trains that Tri-Met has in it's fleet have emergency brake activators in the passenger areas. There are red handles that are emergency door releases in the event you need to evacuate for some emergency. There are some rail lines in other cities that do have activators that do disable the train that are available to the passengers.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 2009-11-20 18:27.
TriMet has NOT taken enough responsibility here. This is flat out ridiculous. Malfunctions? That’s it? Where the heck was the driver? He/She should be fired. So, they give the guy and his wife a free pass for a year? Really? Like that is close to being good enough?
They owe that family a lot more, and owe the TAXPAYERS a better explanation. We are paying for this? For a city that prides itself in its public transportation infrastructure, we should be embarrassed.
All that said, thank goodness the child was safe. Someone should reward the woman that helped. Something other then a free pass. Geez.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 2009-11-20 18:35.
This happened to me and my wife in Japan. We got off of the train in the "electronics district" with our 6 year old in hand. Our 16 year old was getting off when the door closed on him and he had to squeeze through to get off. That left our 12 year old on the train in a foriegn country where even our military folks don't venture out without detailed maps and directions (no signs in english, but why would they?). I tried hanging onto the train but there was nothing to get a firm handhold of and the train starting moving really fast. I finally let go after I yelled to him to get off at the next stop. After waiting several heart-breaking minutes for the next train to arrive, we got on and anxiously looked for our son at the next stop. We were brought to tears when we saw him on the platform being held by five Japanese locals. I could not thank them or bow low enough to them for taking care of my son! I take full blame for not getting off of the train last. That will never happen again, even here in Portland!
Submitted by Tami (not verified) on Fri, 2009-11-20 19:15.
Thank you, young woman, for instinctively knowing the right thing to do. I agree, TriMet should give her a free pass.
Glad this has a happy ending. I agree with everyone above who said they are parents and would probably be frantic and not know what to do.
Do we know the young woman's name, KATU?
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 2009-11-20 22:49.
Were you there? How would you know that he pushed the buttons? If you weren't there, you have no right to say those things. If you WERE there, why didn't you say anything to the father? By the way, we are talking about a three year old, not a 10 year old, so keep your selfish words to yourself!!!!
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 2009-11-20 23:02.
I find it a little indifferent to lay all the responsibility on the train operator. Guess we'll never know the real truth, only those on the train know that. As a father of six and grandpa of fourteen, I find it hard to understand how this could have happened. Was the father on the phone, reading the paper, what? Doubt I'll ever really know the answer to that one and sure the rest of the news watchers of today will never get to hear your reporter ask that question of the father.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 2009-11-20 22:55.
Seems a little indifferent to me that all the focus is on the operator. As father of six and grandpa to fourteen, seems like we are guick to blame the operator. What about the father, did he have control of the child? Appears we are quick to assume the operator is at fault when there is little mention of what the father was doing during this. Just another case of someone blaming others for something when maybe they need to accept the resposibility for their "actions" or should I say their "lack of action". Wounldn't it be refreshing to hear the father say, I was on the phone or reading the paper and not paying attention to what my child was doing. Don't imagine we'll ever get to hear that conversation on the news. Makes me wonder wha the world is coming to.
Submitted by mountainsara (not verified) on Sat, 2009-11-21 10:41.
I am a nanny and often take the 3 yr old and 9 mo old boys out on trimet busses and max. This is by far my worst nightmare to have happen, but I tend to keep a tight grip on him as we are boarding/deboarding the trains. Also he's shy so he sticks close anyway. But...I think I would have pulled the emergency lever if something happened like that. I would definitely panic if anything happened and it's lucky for this dad and boy that someone saw what happened and waited. Very happy ending.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 2009-11-21 18:39.
MOST OF YOU HAVE NO CLUE AS TO HOW THE TRAINS WORK! the system had to be overridden by the operator PERIOD! the intercom was cancelled by you guessed it the OPERATOR! the whole system has several computers and the company can see EXACTLY what happened. that system cant be over ridden! people should be asking to see the ACTUAL Report from the shop that downloaded the information.
Trimet covers it up... sends Bekki Witt to cover or minimize the crap so the public will "forget" will anyone demand the board of directors look into this? or will Fred Hansen use the phrase "Ummm Umm"
Keep us, and your neighbors, in the know.
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