News

Actions

Video, safety upgrades & lawsuit reveal how man's death on People Mover could have been prevented

Posted at 11:39 PM, Aug 09, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-09 23:39:00-04

Nearly 3 months after a man died after falling onto the tracks of the People Mover, new video indicates he was seen stumbling on the platform for more than 10 minutes.

The victim's family has since hired an attorney and filed a lawsuit against the city.

In the suit, attorney Michael Morse describes how a single security officer was responsible for monitoring 64 surveillance cameras, and missed victim Michael Whyte's fall.

Also, Morse says barriers to prevent such a fall were not installed at the time, despite federal safety guidelines.

In a statement to 7 Action News, the city says they have hired an outside consulting firm to review their procedures, and a federal investigation remains underway.

They also say this is the first fatality in 29 years.