MBTA Transit Police investigating death on Green Line

The MBTA’s Transit Police Department is investigating the death of a Green Line passenger at North Station early Tuesday morning.

The man was attempting to board a moving Green Line trolley at 12:18 a.m., Transit Police Superintendent Richard Sullivan said in a statement.

As the northbound trolley was departing on its way to the Medford/Tufts station, the man kicked its side, and “lost his balance and fell under the trolley as it was in motion,” the statement said.

The man’s identity has not been made public.

A spokesperson for Boston Emergency Medical Services said "multiple" EMS units responded to the reported trauma call at North Station. But the man had already died as a result of his injuries, and the medical examiner’s office was notified.

In an email to WBUR, Sullivan said his department will ”consult and confer” with the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, which oversees all death investigations in the county.

There are hundreds of T-related injuries every year, according to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Deaths are relatively rare, but there were several last year, including a man who died when he was caught in Red Line train doors and another who fell onto a high-voltage rail.

“On behalf of the entire MBTA organization we express our most sincere condolences to family, friends and loved ones of the decedent,” Sullivan said.

The accident occurred not long after thousands of fans left the Boston Celtics eastern conference finals game at TD Garden, which is connected to North Station.

News of the Green Line death came as the T is facing a deadline to update its plan for worker safety on the T, as required by the Federal Transit Administration.