CAMBRIDGE — A woman was injured after she was struck by falling equipment at the Harvard MBTA station on Monday afternoon, two months after an insulation panel fell from the station’s ceiling, narrowly missing a commuter on the same platform.
The woman was standing near a column shortly after 4:30 p.m. when a supporting brace hit her as a utility box attached to the column slid to the bottom, according to MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo and the Cambridge Fire Department.
Joanne Wyckoff was sitting nearby when the piece fell.
“We all heard this very loud rumble and then the metal apparatus fell from the ceiling with a huge bang,” she said in an e-mail.
The victim, believed to be in her early 30s, was taken by ambulance to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries, according to the fire department.
The area surrounding the column was blocked off while MBTA officials worked “to determine what caused the equipment to detach from its mounting,” Pesaturo said in an e-mail.
MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng, who took over as head of the agency less than a month ago, went to Harvard station Monday evening to examine the damage.
“We will take all necessary measures to protect our riders and employees and secure our infrastructure for safer service,” Pesaturo said.
Red Line train service was not affected, he said.
The walkway between the column and the wall was roped off with yellow caution tape Monday evening, and small bits of debris remained on the tiled floor after the fallen structure was removed. Water dripped from the ceiling a few feet away.
MBTA workers in yellow reflective vests were seen leaving the station around 8 p.m.
The incident happened a short distance from the spot where a ceiling panel weighing more than 20 pounds suddenly dropped to the ground March 1, narrowly missing a patron. About 100 ceiling panels were removed by the following week, and MBTA crews inspected ceilings at several other stations on the Red Line corridor.
The agency has come under scrutiny in the last year following a series of safety incidents.
Last summer, federal transportation officials issued a scathing report that found the agency’s workforce was too small and had too little training. Last month, the Federal Transit Administration sounded the alarm again, warning that T workers face a “substantial risk” of death or injury while working on train tracks and ordering the agency to make immediate changes to its protocols and training.
Riders passing through Harvard station Monday night expressed little surprise about the latest incident.
“If you look up, it’s all rust,” said Dave, a passenger who declined to share his last name.
Damien Vladimiroff said he was thinking about the incident while entering Harvard station.
”The MBTA needs updates,” said Vladimiroff, a Boston University student. Victoria Hagen, who was waiting with him on the platform, chimed in, “The MBTA is way behind.”
“I’ve been deeply disappointed by public transit in the city,” said Nika, another passenger. “I haven’t felt unsafe … but it’s always unpredictable, unreliable.”
Wyckoff stepped onto a Braintree-bound train shortly after the incident.
“It’s a horribly broken system that we workers have to endure to get to work,” she said.