Long Island man, 61, dies after getting sucked into MRI machine while wearing large metal chain

https://nypost.com/2025/07/18/us-news/long-island-man-dies-after-getting-sucked-into-mri-machine-while-wearing-large-metal-chain/

https://archive.ph/xUkt2

Long Island man, 61, dies after getting sucked into MRI machine while wearing large metal chain​

By
Shane Galvin
Published July 18, 2025, 5:19 p.m. ET
455 Comments



A 61-year-old man who was sucked into an MRI machine on Long Island while wearing a metal neck chain has died from his injuries, authorities revealed Friday.
The freak accident happened Wednesday at Nassau County Open MRI in Westbury when the man was pulled into the magnetic resonance imaging machine by his “large metal chain,” Nassau County cops said in a release.

The freak incident occurred Wednesday at Nassau Open MRI in Westbury, Long Island.Brigitte Stelzer
The 61-year-old was not authorized to be in the imaging room.Brigitte Stelzer
The unidentified victim immediately suffered a serious medical episode and was pronounced dead at a North Shore University Hospital on Thursday, police said.

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Officials said the man was not a patient but was accompanying someone else who was to undergo a medical scan, ABC reported.
Witnesses told CBS the man defied orders to stay out of the MRI room because his relative was screaming in pain.
The man’s cause of death was not revealed by officials, but a staff doctor at North Shore University Hospital speculated on what could have happened.
“If this was a chain that was wrapped around the neck, I could imagine any kind of strangulation injuries that could happen,” Dr. Payal Sud told CBS.

“Asphyxiation, cervical spine injuries.
An investigation is underway, but no criminality is suspected.

 

[Clotso Coof]

The wife will sue. The hospital will settle for at least a million bucks, probably more, because otherwise the jury would see the crying widow describing her husband getting his head ripped off or whatever.

He was wearing a 20 pound chain with a lock on "He uses for weight training."
Very odd

Weirdest suicide since the burrito janitor tossed himself through the meat grinder.

It begs belief that they'd ever let him in the room with 20 pounds of metal on him.

Unless the nurse/tech was completely incompetent. I can see it.

There was a Somali male working the MRI at a hospital near me for a couple years (before they caught him raping unconscious women). I had to deal with a Haitian male surgery tech once. Hospitals are hiring absolute trash-tier techs.

 

[JosephStalin]

He FAFO. Fuck bucket is empty for this dumbass.

First, from my experiences having MRIs you, as the patient, are given a squeeze ball containing a switch to press if you need help. So question if the relative were truly that badly off.

Second, from my experiences having MRIs, the most recently last week, believe it is only ferrous metals that are affected by MRIs. Before your procedure the MRI people will ask about any metal in the body, such as medical devices and shrapnel. They also want to know about jewelry. Had the MRI last week wearing wedding ring, with two non-ferrous metal pacemakers in the heart and an apparent titanium device in the lower spine, implanted during spinal fusion. They knew what I had and adjusted accordingly, no problems at all.

Dead dude sounds like certain pro wrestlers who would come into the ring wearing heavy steel chains.

Added...the MRI machines I have been in have never caused any feelings of claustrophobia. Always felt there was adequate room, and I have always had to go in all the way for my scans. Machine used last time was a Siemens. Could be newer technology where mine are done. Noisy but you wear ear protection. Can feel the magnets working away. Lots of interesting sounds; if you put the right beat to them they could be considered techno music. Toughest parts - staying as still as possible, then getting off the bed after the procedure. At this time of life not always easy, but help is there.

 

[Larry David's Opera Cape]

The unidentified victim immediately suffered a serious medical episode

New term for "internal decapitation" just dropped.

 

[SITHRAK!]

This is exactly why Insane Clown Posse encourages their aficionados to ponder the mechanisms by which magnetism functions. I don’t see Juggalos being dragged into MRI machines.

 

[The Mass Shooter Ron Soye]

New term for "internal decapitation" just dropped.

When I first saw this story, he was still in "serious condition". Guess his head took a turn for the worse. I didn't post the story because I didn't want to share the disappointment of there being no video.

 

[not william stenchever]

This is exactly why Insane Clown Posse encourages their aficionados to ponder the mechanisms by which magnetism functions. I don’t see Juggalos being dragged into MRI machines.

When you make ICP look like learned philosophers that's when you should know that you have fucked up.

 

[indomitable snowman]

Here's a 20lb fitness chain. It's 6 feet long...

I kinda want to see the security cam footage if there is some.

Here's some people putting metal objects into a MRI. A wrench that weights probably 1 lb reads 500lbs on their scale as it's pulled in. A chair is pulled past 2000lbs.
I'm sure the chain was several tons of force.

 

[UsedUp]

My guess is the machine  sucked him in and it folded him in half backwards.

 

[Albrecht von Wallenstein]

This retarded nigger just discovered a new execution method that we could use.

Just wrap a chain around the inmate’s neck and then stick him inside the MRI machine. He will hardly feel anything as his head pops off like that of a Lego figurine.

---

Found the video of his brutal death.

Spoiler: Warning, Gore, NSFW

 

[Blewberry Nausea]

Damn, new Final Destination scene just dropped. Nigger just had to ‘keep it real’ and represent, yo!

 

[Town Drunk]

Even stainless steel is barely magnetic, so he wasn't wearing gold, or silver, pewter, but a straight up chain like you buy from the hardware store it seems.

Probably worse than they make it sound. Thin enough it cut through his neck until it the bone, and maybe kept going. Or thick enough it strangled him to death.

Either way, what a dumbass.

 

[repentance]

I really wish the media would stop referring to deaths caused by people not following/bypassing safety procedures as "accidents". They're the consequences of intentional acts.

 

[raspberry mocha]

I really wish the media would stop referring to deaths caused by people not following/bypassing safety procedures as "accidents". They're the consequences of intentional acts.

It's times like these when I miss the Darwin Awards.

 

[Gandhi's Left Hook]

There are a ton of stories about this kind of shit.

https://www.iflscience.com/this-is-why-you-should-never-wear-a-metal-butt-plug-in-an-mri-machine-68886

I thought anyone wearing a buttplug would welcome an "anal rail gun."

That......that is fucking hilarious! Thank you.

 

[robobobo]

Would gold even be effected by an MRI machine?

Fake chain wearing nigga

No. Gold gives zero fucks about magnets. Only iron and a couple of other metals react to a magnetic field, so any solid gold jewelry would be completely unaffected. Gold alloys like "white gold" may have sufficient nickel in them to be affected by an MRI, but I expect the result would be too weak to cause much of a problem. It definitely wouldn't pull you into the machine and kill you. Even most shitty gold plated jewelry is on a core of copper or silver, I'm not aware of any gold jewelry that uses iron.
It's a moot point given that apparently the guy was wearing a twenty-pound weightlifting chain for some inconceivable reason, but unless a gold chain was astoundingly fake, like a Chinese bike chain with gold spray paint on it, it shouldn't react to an MRI. I'd still take it off just to be on the safe side, though.

 

[Shartin' Luther]

No. Gold gives zero fucks about magnets. Only iron and a couple of other metals react to a magnetic field, so any solid gold jewelry would be completely unaffected.

Interesting tidbit, any non-magnetic metal will (slightly) resist whatever movement you put it through in an MRI-strength magnetic field due to induced currents. One common demonstration of this is placing a large block of aluminum on the platform in front of the magnet and tipping it over towards it leading to the block falling over in slow motion.

Another fun one is trying to quickly move an aluminum plate into the field with the flat side to the magnet. The faster you try to move it the more it will resist you. If you bring it slowly into the field there is barely an effect but shove it hard and it is like pushing a wall.

 

[Otterly]

scenario:
She has a panic attack in the machine, and screams blue murder. Husband rushes in, past everyone and all the signs. Laws of physics do what they do.
Wife feels incredibly guilty and shocked md cannot process her role in this. Proceeds to accuse anyone she can. Profit

 

[YouGuysAren'tThatSmart]

First, from my experiences having MRIs you, as the patient, are given a squeeze ball containing a switch to press if you need help. So question if the relative were truly that badly off.

I've had 4 now and not once was I ever given a squeeze ball. I was just told to tell them if I was feeling uncomfortable or any pain. What kinda bougie place you going to where you're getting balls to squeeze? Lol

 

[Yugica]

Interesting tidbit, any non-magnetic metal will (slightly) resist whatever movement you put it through in an MRI-strength magnetic field due to induced currents. One common demonstration of this is placing a large block of aluminum on the platform in front of the magnet and tipping it over towards it leading to the block falling over in slow motion.

That's if they're conductive at least. No metal is actually non-magnetic, just not ferro- or ferri- magnetic. There's two other kinds of magnetism that I'm familiar with and that's para- and dia- magnetism. Paramagnetic materials are weakly attracted to any magnetic field, regardless of its polarity and diamagnetic materials are the opposite. Diamagnetic materials can also be used to hover things in magnetic fields and water is actually diamagnetic. This is how you get floating frogs .

From what I remember gold is weakly diamagnetic with bismuth being the most diamagnetic metal and the strongest diamagnetic material(that isn't a superconductor superconducting) being pyrolithic graphite.

 

[Otterly]

I've had 4 now and not once was I ever given a squeeze ball. I was just told to tell them if I was feeling uncomfortable or any pain. What kinda bougie place you going to where you're getting balls to squeeze? Lol

They do in the NHS. I’ve had two, and I have to say those tunnels are SMALL. I’m a small person, and they tend to have to raise the bed slider thingy for me. But I’m one of the smaller adults they’d see - so there’s a gap all around me and i still get that little signal from the lizard brain telling me this is a very bad idea. So they must be very claustrophobic and extremely tight for anyone big. I have sympathy with that, if you’re at all claustrophobic MRI is not fun, and I imagine if you’re large, and this lady is, then it’s even worse
That said, I am pretty sure all MRI places are used to people having fear related meltdowns, and being unable to go in. They have very clear signage and waiting areas.
I will bet she had a meltdown and he rushed to help her without thinking. Sometimes people just react.