FOLLOWING THE HORRIBLE ACCIDENT, DOCTORS AT THE HOSPITAL CAUSED HIS SLOW AGONIZING DEATH

It's every commuter's worst nightmare - 'mistake' getting caught in train door led to father's horrific 26-day slow death

 

By James Cirrone 

 

Daily Mail

Sep 13, 2025

 

Jonathan Ignatious Edwards III was dragged 100 yards by a MAX train on December 21, 2023, after his coat got stuck in the doors. Edwards, 65, suffered in 'extreme pain' and 'mental and emotional distress' in the hospital for 26 days before he died on January 16, 2024, according to the lawsuit

 

The family of a 65-year-old man was paid $830,000 by an Oregon transit agency after he was dragged 100 yards by a train when his trench coat got caught in the doors.

Jonathan Ignatious Edwards III, who later died from his injuries, was the last to get off a MAX train at a station in Beaverton, a suburb of Portland, on December 21, 2023.

According to an internal report from TriMet, the agency that oversees the Portland-area light rail system, Edwards exited the train then 'turned back' with his right hand holding his coat 'toward the doors'.

This resulted in his coat getting 'caught in the closing doors', according to the report, which was obtained by The Oregonian.

Edwards then stuck his left hand through the doors before pulling it out toward his body, the report said.

The train began moving while Edwards was still caught. He stumbled and was dragged across the platform and then the tracks.

Two TriMet security officers saw this and radioed TriMet's operations center, which immediately told the train operator to 'STOP! STOP! STOP!', according to the report.

The train operator later told a police officer 'he had been having trouble with the train's mirrors being loose and he had needed to adjust them multiple times earlier', per the report.

 

Pictured: First responders helping Edwards onto a stretcher. He was taken to the hospital with a fractured neck and a hematoma in the cervical spine

 

He said he instead used a monitor that showed a camera feed of the outside of the train. He added that he looked at that monitor before pulling away from the station, the report said.

Edwards was rushed to the Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland with a fractured neck and a hematoma in the cervical spine, the uppermost vertebra in the spinal column.

Edwards's estate has alleged in a lawsuit against the hospital that his surgeon, Dr. Tiffany Dian Wong Odell, chose a much riskier procedure to fix his spine and that there was a safer way to operate on him.

The lawsuit also accused Odell of ignoring signs that the operation was going wrong as soon as anesthesia was administered, namely that his blood pressure had dropped to unsafe levels.

Odell allegedly failed to place a stent to relieve the pressure on Edwards's spine, which the lawsuit said caused him to become paralyzed from the neck down.

For the next 26 days, Edwards suffered in 'extreme pain' and 'mental and emotional distress', according to the lawsuit. He succumbed to his injuries and died in the hospital on January 16, 2024.

'But for defendants' negligence, Jonathan Edwards would not have suffered quadriplegia and would not have died when he did,' the suit alleges. 'Defendants' departures from the standard of care directly and foreseeably resulted in his catastrophic injuries and premature death.' 

Edwards left behind three children, two daughters and a son. His daughter, Ebony Edwards-Robbins is managing his estate.

 

Edwards was rushed to Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland. The family is now suing the medical center for negligence, claiming Edwards was given poor treatment that led to his quadriplegic state and death

 

The complaint has requested a jury trial and is demanding the hospital pay $9 million in damages.

Daily Mail approached Legacy Emanuel Hospital for comment.

The Oregonian reported that TriMet paid the Edwards family an $830,000 settlement last year, something the agency hadn't disclosed until this week. 

'Our hearts go out to the loved ones of Mr. Edwards,' TriMet said in a statement. 

'This was a unique incident, and TriMet has taken additional steps to prevent this from ever occurring again.'

The Edwards family never sued TriMet, with both parties agreeing to settle the case before it advanced to court. 

Daily Mail approached the lawyer representing the Edwards family, Ernest Warren Jr., for comment.

A TriMet spokesperson told the Oregonian that the agency inspected all MAX train doors after Edwards's coat was caught to make sure the 'sensitive edges' designed to open when they make contact with objects or people were functioning properly.

 

A photo above shows the scene of the horrific accident on December 21, 2023

 

Before Edwards's death, TriMet policy stipulated that train operators were to check their mirrors and the outside camera to see if the doorways were clear before leaving.

That guidance has since been updated, with conductors now being encouraged to step outside the train and look. 

They can also call other staff who are looking at video from stations to give them the all-clear.

It's still unclear how Edwards's coat got stuck in the doors, since TriMet concluded they were functioning properly.