Chester, PA – Elevator mechanic struck, killed by falling dumbwaiter at Harrah’s Philadelphia

According to ABC 6 Action News, an elevator mechanic working on a dumbwaiter at Harrah’s Philadelphia in Chester, Pennsylvania, was killed when the dumbwaiter unexpectedly fell on top of him. The accident occurred around 4 p.m., Saturday, December 29, 2012. The 52 year-old victim from Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, was an elevator contractor, not a casino employee. The incident dumbwaiter was used to deliver food to restaurants within the casino. Continue reading

Sabhan, Kuwait – Elevator mechanic killed, another injured; crushed by falling car

According to the Kuwait Times, an elevator accident left one elevator mechanic dead and another seriously injured in the Sabhan neighborhood of Kuwait. Although details of the circumstances are scant, it appears that both mechanics were working in the hoistway pit of an interior ministry building at the time the accident occurred. The elevator unexpectedly descended, crushing the two men, killing one instantly. Continue reading

Himeji, Japan – 64 year old delivery man dies after elevator moved with doors open

According to News Limited, “a male office worker died on Monday afternoon ‘after getting stuck in a lift that suddenly descended’, a police spokesman said.” Although the exact circumstances remain unclear, it appears that the man was a deliver worker who was transporting something from one floor to another. Apparently the item he was moving became stuck in the gap between the cab and the floor landing. The man was then standing in the sill, with one foot in the car, and the other foot on the landing, when the elevator suddenly descended, apparently crushing the man. Continue reading

Nagoya, Japan – 28 year old woman dies in restaurant dumbwaiter accident

According to News On Japan, “A restaurant worker [in Nagoya, Japan] died early Monday in an accident involving a dumb waiter.” The circumstances of the 28-year-old woman’s death were unclear but she apparently had been placing dishes in the restaurant’s small dumbwaiter on Sunday evening. According to the report, the dumbwaiter only measured 70 centimeters high by 60 centimeters wide, and was designed to carry dishes between floors of the restaurant. Continue reading

Korrukkupet, Chennai, India – Man dies, two seriously injured after elevator crashes at wedding hall

According to the Times of India, a 55-year-old man died and two people were seriously injured when an elevator cable snapped in a marriage hall in Korrukkupet on Sunday afternoon. According to the report, the elevator plunged from the third floor to the ground floor after the cables gave way. It was unclear at the time of the report whether overspeed governors or other types of safety devices are required by any applicable elevator codes in India, however, according to the article, the elevator was only six months old. Continue reading

Bellevue, WA – 24 year old man dies after three story fall from shopping mall escalator

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

Manhattan, NY – Suzanne Hart fatally crushed in freak elevator accident

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

Long Beach, CA – Woman killed trying to escape stuck elevator at CSULB

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

Bronx, NY – Man moving mattress falls down freight elevator shaft

Joseph Ryan, a 35 year-old man died around 11 p.m. Monday after plunging two stories down a freight elevator shaft in an apartment building located on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx. The man was moving into a new apartment and was apparently walking backwards and carrying a mattress at the lobby level when the incident occurred. The man fell down to the basement level and suffered injuries that he succumbed to after being transported to nearby St. Barnabas Hospital.Although the victim was not working at the time, he apparently worked for a private elevator contractor during the day. The New York City Department of Buildings investigated the accident and determined that the victim had apparently used a drop key to open the hoistway door and gain access to the elevator for at least one prior trip on the elevator. Continue reading

Shiodome, Tokyo, Japan – 45 year-old man suffers fatal fall after leaning against escalator handrail

Satoshi Katayama was killed in April 2009 after he leaned backwards against an escalator handrail which then lifted him off his feet and over the the handrail, dropping him to his death into an open atrium nearly 30 feet high. Surveillance video of the incident depicts the victim briefly leaning against the handrail before being carried over the balustrade and falling to his death. Continue reading