MARTA escalator failure in 2007 blamed on faulty brakes

A pack of college football fans at the MARTA Five Points station lost their footing before the 2007 Chick-fil-A Bowl and came crashing down on the brick platform, injuring 11.

Many of the riders on the escalator that night appeared to be Auburn and Clemson fans on the way to the college football bowl game. Ambulances carried 11 people to hospitals.

The accident happened as a southbound train pulled in and passengers had packed an up-escalator that suddenly started running backward before jolting to a stop and sending the riders into a heap on the floor.

Officials blamed the malfunction on rowdies who they said were jumping up and down on the escalator. But MARTA officials eventually admitted there were problems with the braking system and a weak motor, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported at the time.

MARTA officials have blamed the July 15 accident at the Vine City station on a “stampede” of people that overloaded the escalator.

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