Heart Attack Death Prompts Call for Improvements on Train Lines
BOSTON — The sister of a man who suffered a heart attack on a commuter train that made two more stops before he was taken off said Thursday that she hoped for changes in training and safety equipment.
Jeanne Peterson said her brother, James Allen, would want something positive to come from his death, such as requiring cardiopulmonary resuscitation training for crews and defibrillators on trains.
“Jim was a very logical person, a patient, down-to-earth thinker,” she said. “I have to think the logic here means training in CPR and defibrillators.”
Allen, 61, died of a heart attack at a hospital Tuesday about 20 minutes after he was stricken on the train. The train made two regularly scheduled stops, even though the conductor knew Allen was unconscious.
Assistant conductor Susan Bergeron administered CPR to Allen after he collapsed at 8:52 a.m. The train stopped twice before paramedics boarded at Boston’s Back Bay station.
Bergeron has defended the crew, saying it would have been dangerous to rush through stations without stopping.
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