PORTLAND, Ore. - A mother and her 6-year- old son get separated by a closing door at a MAX light rail stop last weekend, the latest in a series of incidents in which children were separated from parents at transit stations.
The incident took place Sunday in downtown Portland when the young boy dashed onto the train and the doors closed behind him while his mother struggled to get a stroller on the train.
The incident was caught on video and shows the child darting onto the train just as the doors are closing, leaving his mother behind. The train then leaves the platform.
Family members of Donna Negron reportedly yelled at the driver to stop the train, but it kept going with her son Noah on board. Donna tried pushing the door buttons but got no response.
Her brother – who happens to work for TriMet – was also unable to get the driver to stop and chased the train on foot all the way to the next station. Other train riders who saw the incident stayed with Noah until he was reunited with his mother.
Negron said Noah told her he thought for a few moments he thought he wasn’t going to see her again.
TriMet officials told KATU News that once a train leaves a platform, it cannot stop between platforms for safety reasons.
Negron told KATU News that she has filed a complaint with TriMet and is considering getting a lawyer.
There have been at least three other incidents of parents becoming separated from children at MAX stops over the past two years.
One man sued TriMet, which operates the MAX light rail system, after he became separated from his 3-year-old son in 2009 and the train operator ignored his pleas to stop the train.
That train operator was dismissed by TriMet. No settlement information in that case has been released.
http://portlandcitycenter.katu.com/news/community-spirit/max-leaves-mom-behind-after-child-6-darts-train-car/442017
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