Wife Shares Emotional Story After Husband Is Pulled Into MRI Machine And Tragically Dies

The grieving wife of a man who died in a freak MRI accident has opened up about the heartbreaking moment it all happened, as well as the painful days that followed.

Adrienne Jones-McAllister was right beside her husband, 61-year-old Kevin McAllister, when the tragic incident occurred at Nassau Open MRI in Westbury, New York, on July 16.

"He went limp in my arms," Jones-McAllister told News 12 Long Island. "And this is still pulsating in my brain."

The terrifying event unfolded while Adrienne was in the middle of getting an MRI on her knee inside the clinic.

Police responded to an emergency 911 call at the facility shortly after 4:30 p.m. local time. According to the Nassau County Police Department (NCPD), the man involved—later identified as Kevin had suffered what they described as a "medical episode" after being caught in the MRI machine.

As explained in the police statement, Kevin had stepped into an MRI room that he wasn’t authorized to enter while the machine was still scanning.

Kevin McAllister was 'snatched' by the MRI machine News 12

"The male victim was wearing a large metallic chain around his neck causing him to be drawn into the machine which resulted in a medical episode." police said in the official report.

Just two days after the incident, it was confirmed that Kevin had died from his injuries. A hospital physician officially declared him deceased.

Adrienne later revealed that her husband had suffered multiple heart attacks after being pulled into the MRI device.

She told the outlet that she actually saw the MRI machine grab and drag her husband, moments after he entered the room.

Adrienne recalled that after her knee scan was completed, she asked the technician to let her husband in so he could help her get up.

She said Kevin came into the room still wearing a heavy 20-pound chain necklace, something he often wore for weight training. Despite the obvious risk, he was allowed in with the chain on.

"In that instant, the machine switched him around, pulled him in, and he hit the MRI." she described.

The strong magnetic force of the MRI held Kevin in place. These machines are built to scan soft tissues and organs using intense magnets, according to the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering.

Adrienne said she and the technician both tried everything they could to pull Kevin away from the MRI, but it was no use. They simply couldn’t break him free.

She shouted and pleaded for help, saying: "I was saying, 'Could you turn off the machine? Call 911. Do something. Turn this damn thing off!'"

The National Institute advises that all metal and electrical objects should be removed before entering the scan area. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen here.

Adrienne also mentioned that this wasn't their first visit to Nassau Open MRI. She said the staff there had seen Kevin’s chain before on other visits.

She claimed: "They had a conversation about it before: 'Oh that's a big chain.'"

Since losing her husband, Adrienne shared that she’s been deeply affected—barely sleeping or eating as she tries to process everything.

She said: "I haven't been able to sleep, I'm barely eating, I just can't believe it."

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around the whole thing. He waved goodbye to me, and his whole body went limp."

The Nassau County Police Department confirmed that an investigation is still ongoing to figure out exactly what went wrong.