MBTA passenger speaks out after nearly being hit by ceiling panel on train platform

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority says it’s fully investigating what caused a panel to fall from the ceiling at the Harvard Station last week.

Surveillance video released Friday by the MBTA shows several riders can be seen walking near the bottom of an escalator when the tile suddenly crashed down on the southbound side at the Harvard Square Red Line stop, nearly hitting a rider.

Cianna Navarro was the MBTA passenger who had a close call with the ceiling tile.

“In that moment… I didn’t really know is it was a one-off situation or if more of the ceiling tiles were going to come falling down,” Navarro said in an interview Monday night.

MBTA Interim General Manager Jeff Gonneville says his inspectors believe the piece fell after the supports corroded. He explained the panels are decorative and hang from the actual ceiling. Gonneville says the panels were originally installed in 1978 but underwent a detailed inspection in 2021. But he says because of the design of the station – the inspections didn’t have a clear view of the problem area.

Video shows ceiling panel collapsing onto train platform nearly hitting a woman

You see a cloud of dust and debris when the panel that the MBTA says weighed about 20-25 pounds fell from above.

Navarro said the entire ordeal stunned her into stillness for a moment as she was engulfed in a thick black cloud of debris while another passenger came her to aid.

“And I remember when I responded to the bystander that I was okay but when I went to go close my mouth, there was like a mouthful of dirt and dust - it was disgusting,” said Navarro.

The 21-year-old Suffolk University student said she is looking at the positive in the scary situation.

“But it has made me appreciate life more, I guess, you know, don’t take things for granted.”

Inspectors are now removing any panels to give inspectors a clear view. The Harvard station has four to five hundred of these panels and so far ten have been removed.

The MBTA says a system-wide safety audit of the ceilings will take a couple of weeks.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW

©2023 Cox Media Group