Woman trapped by Boston subway train says ‘I can’t afford an ambulance’

A woman whose leg became pinned between a train and the platform at a Boston subway station reportedly begged fellow passengers not to call emergency services because she could not afford an ambulance.

The incident occurred at the Massachusetts Avenue station during the Friday rush hour, USA Today reports.

A female passenger leaving a train slipped while stepping over the five-inch gap, wedging her leg between the train and the platform edge.

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CCTV footage showed commuters banding together to rock the body of the train away from the platform, allowing her to be dragged to safety.

However, despite sustaining a cut to her thigh deep enough to expose the bone, the woman’s first concern upon being rescued was the cost of her treatment, according to Boston Globe reporter Maria Cramer, who witnessed the accident.

Patients can be charged hundreds or thousands of dollars for an ambulance callout if they do not have a medical insurance plan which covers transport to hospital.

The story has touched a nerve in the US, where soaring medical costs and the plight of the uninsured and underinsured are two of the most pressing topics on the nation’s political agenda.

“This discord, between agony and arithmetic, has become America’s story, too,” said The New York Times in an editorial urging politicians to take action so that ordinary Americans no longer face high-stakes tradeoffs between money and health.

As for the woman at the heart of the story, Cramer yesterday gave more details about the aftermath of the accident:

Police told USA Today that the injured woman was treated at the scene before being taken to hospital. Although she has not been publicly identified, wellwishers have inundated Cramer with offers to help pay her medical bills.