In Boston, a 20-year-old college student who lost her footing and became caught beneath a moving train suffered a skull fracture and had to have a portion of her leg amputated below the knee.
Family members stated on a GoFundMe page that Ava Harlow, an Amesbury resident, has been receiving care at Brigham and Women’s Hospital since the night of the accident more than a week ago.
According to officials with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) police, at around 11:30 p.m. Jan. 27, Harlow got off a Green Line train at the BU Central Station in Boston with a group of friends, but then she realized that a few other companions remained on the train, reported the Boston Globe.
For her, Harlow sounded the window with a knock.
At that precise time, Harlow slipped and was carried under the train.
Firefighters with specialised training were sent to save the Bridgewater State University student. MBTA police, Boston police, and EMS also responded.Upon receiving “the dreaded 3 a.m. phone call that no parent wants to hear” alerting him that his daughter had been hit by a train, Harlow’s father, Andrew Harlow, described the incident.
The father sobbedly told CBS Boston that his daughter required two rounds of CPR before being sent to an ICU and intubated.
Ava broke one leg and lost a portion of the other. According to her father, she reportedly sustained cuts to her face that required stitches, a cracked skull, a crushed pelvis, a broken arm, and other injuries.
Ava is grateful to the firefighters and paramedics who helped save her life, Andrew Harlow said, despite the long list of injuries.
“The first thing she mentioned after she was extubated was the guys,” he said, adding that he would like to thank the first responders who tied his daughter’s tourniquet and revived her.
Separately, Andrew claimed to have hired a lawyer and blamed the MBTA for the mishap in a statement to the Boston Herald.
“He could have [seen] that she was banging on the friggin’ side of the car and not pulled away,” the parent said, seemingly referring to the train operator. “They have mirrors. They have horns. They’re supposed to toot the horn before they take off.”
Meanwhile, a group of family friends calling themselves Ava’s “aunties” have launched a GoFundMe campaign to help with her medical bills and living expenses.
“She’s hardworking, smart, funny, and has a big heart,” the organizers wrote in the description of the online fundraiser, which so far has drawn more than $41,000 in donations.
A second GoFundMe page that was started by Ava’s high school friends has raised more than $42,000 as of Tuesday.
At Amesbury High School, where she excelled in field hockey and basketball, Harlow graduated in 2021. She is a junior student studying criminal justice at Bridgewater State University.
