Update: New details emerge about fatal MRI accident in Long Island

The man involved in an MRI accident that made national headlines last week has succumbed to his injuries. 

He has now been identified as 61-year-old Keith McAllister. New details surrounding the events leading up to his death were revealed over the weekend, and his wife, who was the subject of the MRI scan, has since spoken about the tragedy. 

Adrienne Jones-McAllister told News 12 Long Island that her husband was accompanying her for an MRI of her knee at Nassau Open MRI, a freestanding center in Westbury, New York. Jones-McAllister told reporters that she asked the technologist to retrieve her husband after the exam so that he could help her up from the table. She said that the tech allowed him in the room, despite the large, 20-pound chain around his neck. 

Original reports did not go into great detail about the chain, and it was initially assumed by many to be some sort of large piece of jewelry. However, the chain was much larger—large enough that it was used for weight training, according to McAllister’s wife. 

Jones-McAllister said when her husband entered the room, “the machine switched him around, pulled him in, and he hit the MRI.” She and the tech tried to release him from the scanner’s hold but had no luck. After police and paramedics arrived, McAllister was rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition. He is said to have suffered a heart attack after the incident; he died from his injuries the next day. 

It also has been revealed since the accident that the scanner was not an open MRI; it was in a trailer parked next to the imaging center and was accessible through an extension of the trailer to the building. 

In the wake of the tragedy, McAllister’s wife said she is struggling to understand what happened. 

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around the whole thing,” she said. “He waved goodbye to me, and his whole body went limp.” 

The accident remains under investigation.