Sudden SkyTrain stop sends wheelchair sliding, raising safety concerns

Amelia Cooper was riding an older model SkyTrain on Saturday when a sudden stop sent her wheelchair skidding across the car into the side panel, crushing her ankle.

"It was scary when my chair started sliding. Then as soon as my foot got hit in between the panel and the chair I could feel it go pop and it hurt really bad," said Cooper.

The 26-year-old, who has brittle bone disease (osteogenesis imperfecta), ended her journey in "agonizing pain" and fearful that she'd broken something.

"I was saying 'Ow!' a bunch of times."

Another SkyTrain rider pushed the emergency button to get help, then it was a 10-minute wait to get off.

Cooper drove her wheelchair off the train at the Scott Road Station and down the elevator and then had to endure an hour-long wait with a SkyTrain attendant until the ambulance arrived.

"She was screaming in agonizing pain for about 10 minutes," said her boyfriend Aaron Busch, who rushed to help as Cooper awaited an ambulance.

She ended up in hospital with a severe sprain and possibly an imperceptible fracture.

Make safe spot for wheelchairs, Cooper says

Now Cooper and Busch are urging TransLink to make the cars safer for riders with wheelchairs.

Cooper's had difficulty on older Expo and Millennium Line trains before, and said it is not the first time she has been thrown by a sudden stop.

"Oh, lots of times.One time a guy fell on top of me, but luckily I didn't get hurt too bad, "she laughed as she recalled past incidents.

Wheelchair spots are available and seats can be flipped up to make room, but on Saturday the train was full and people were sitting on those flip-up chairs, she said.

"I can't even lift it by myself anyway," said Cooper, who does not feel secure, even when she can get a proper spot.

So for now she parks near the door and hopes for the best.

But what she really wants is for TransLink to update their docking ports for wheelchairs to make the ride safer and easier for disable passengers.

Busch would like to see SkyTrain cars equipped like Vancouver buses with stalls to encase the wheelchair so it does not go flying in case of a sudden stop.

"These SkyTrain systems are so archaically designed, even the new ones," Busch said. "[They] don't have a proper placement for a wheelchair to prevent incidents like this."

Sudden stop caused by person on tracks

Chris Bryan, senior communications advisor for TransLink, said the sudden stop was an automatic response triggered by a person leaving the station and walking along the tracks.

"That results in a sudden stop on the train, which can be quite a jolt for people," Bryan said.

Bryan said TransLink's cars follow industry best practices in terms of safety and accessibility.

"We always take safety very seriously," he said. "We are sorry that this happened for Ms. Cooper."