According to NBC New York, an 11-year old boy fell three floors down an elevator shaft around 12:30pm on Sunday, December 9, 2012. According to police, the victim and other young boys were playing in the building hallway when “the elevator doors unexpectedly opened and one of the boys fell in”. The condition of the boy was not immediately clear, but presumably the boy was hospitalized and sustained serious injury. Continue reading
According to the Seattle Times, “Four people fell when an escalator inside Bellevue Square shopping center malfunctioned tonight, according to the Bellevue Fire Department. A man, woman and two 3-year-olds were taken to local hospitals after the 7:21 p.m. malfunction at Macy’s. The man sustained minor injuries while the three others were taken as a precaution, said Bellevue Fire spokesman Troy Donlin.” According to Q13 FOX News, the state inspectors have been notified about the incident. The cause of the incident remains unclear at this time. Continue reading
According to the Siloam Springs Herald Leader, “A 50-year-old man was dropped three stories when the passenger elevator he was riding inside the Simmons Feed Mill in Decatur failed Friday morning.” Continue reading
According to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania news agency TribLIVE, Black Friday shopping was interrupted at Century III Mall in West Miffllin after an elevator motor caught fire for yet-unknown reasons. Interestingly, an elevator maintenance technician apparently discovered the fire when he noticed heat coming from the motor room. According to the article, a fire official said the motor and its oil burned within the elevator shaft. No one was injured, but the store and businesses around it were cleared while fire crews remained on scene. Continue reading
According to the Press of Atlantic City, an Englishman allegedly dangled 40 feet in the air after his clothing became caught in an escalator at the Revel Resort and Hotel on August 24, 2012. A lawsuit seeking $75,000 in damages alleges that the victim, Mr. Christopher Eades, who was a guest at the time of the incident, was standing near the escalator on the second floor when part of his clothing became caught in the ascending handrail. The lawsuit goes on to say the victim “was suddenly and precipitously pulled over the railing of the area in which he was then and there standing.” Bystanders eventually rescued the victim, who was then treated for a fractured left leg and knee, in addition to other minor injuries. Continue reading
According to Bellevue Patch, a 24-year-old man died after falling three stories at Lincoln Square shopping center in Bellevue, Washington. A police spokeswoman stated that the man, identified as Joel Bush, attempted to ride the escalator by sitting and balancing on the handrail. The man apparently lost his balance and fell backward into the atrium, falling sixty feet. According to police, alcohol was initially suspected to be a factor but ultimately did not appear to contribute to the man’s death. Continue reading
A young child was injured Wednesday, December 28, 2011 around 7 p.m. at the Mall of Georgia in Buford, Georgia. According to a fire official, the child fell out of a stroller while the stroller was on the escalator. The child was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for minor injuries. Continue reading
According to multiple sources, 41-year old ad executive Suzanne Hart was killed around 10 a.m. on Wednesday, December 14, 2011, while she boarded an elevator on the ground floor at 285 Madison Avenue when the elevator moved up suddenly while the doors were still open, crushing her, and causing the elevator to become stuck between the first and second floors. Two witnesses were inside the elevator when the incident occurred and were subsequently treated for psychological trauma. The New York City Department of Buildings investigated the incident and concluded that elevator mechanics had used wire jumpers to bypass the elevator’s door interlock circuits, allowing the elevator to move with its doors open. Continue reading
Annette Lujan, 47, of Huntington Beach, California, was killed around 9 a.m. Tuesday while trying to escape a stuck elevator. Lujan was on her way to work at the Office of University Research in the Foundation Building when the elevator became stuck between floors. Lujan apparently attempted to pry the doors open and climb up to the next floor to escape, when the elevator suddenly and unexpectedly moved down, crushing her. According to police, a bystander was attempting to help Lujan out of the elevator when the accident occurred. Continue reading
A Phoenix woman broke her right ankle, and possibly her left ankle as well, when the elevator she entered dropped three floors at a high speed. The fire department report noted that the victim entered the elevator on the third floor, and as soon as she activated the second floor cab call, she heard a loud noise and then the elevator dropped. The cause of the incident remained unknown. Continue reading