A 27-year-old pedestrian was injured in a San Francisco Muni accident when she got caught between two cars. The woman and her dog were trying to cross at Irving Street on Muni's N-Judah line. A police spokesperson said that in accidents like this, many people end up much more serious injuries. He stated that the woman and her dog were lucky, as the woman had only a few bumps, scrapes and bruises. The police spokesperson said that the dog, a mixed breed with short legs, was not hurt.

The woman was taken to San Francisco General Hospital after crews jacked up the train to release her. The police spokesperson said she had been dragged a short distance, but if she had fallen all the way under the train, the metal wheels could have run over her, amputating a body part.

The woman was crossing between two cars. Though she made it over the couplings, her dog did not. When she reached between the cars to get the dog, the train started moving and trapped the woman under one of the cars.

Many of us in San Francisco rely on the Muni trains to get or work or just to get around. But there is always a risk of serious injury in situations like this where a large number of transit riders and other pedestrians are in close proximity to the trains. While other types of trains, like freight trains, are cordoned off with gates and lights to ensure that neither pedestrians nor cars get to close. Authorities are investigating the accident.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle, "Woman hurt squeezing between Muni Metro cars" Vivian Ho & Ellen Huet, Feb. 24, 2012