Bangalore, India – LPG delivery man fatally crushed by descending elevator

A 44-year old Indian man delivering liquid propane gas died Tuesday, November 5, 2013, around 12:30 p.m. local time, when he was fatally crushed by an elevator in an apartment building in Devara Jeevana Halli, Bangalore, India. According to early reports, the man had completed his delivery on the ground floor, and was on his way to the building’s first floor to collect payment. When he registered a hall call, the elevator doors apparently opened without the cab present. The victim apparently stepped through the opening, falling into the pit, where he was then crushed when the elevator descended seconds later to answer his hall call. Witnesses stated that they observed a significant amount of blood and were only able to see the victim’s hands, and used crowbars in an attempt to lift the cab off the victim. Local police are investigating the circumstances of the accident and had not yet released a formal statement, but noted that it appeared to be a malfunction and not foul play. Continue reading

Decatur, AL – Hospital maintenance worker fatally crushed by freight elevator

Michael “Dewayne” Atkins, 41, of Russelville, Alabama, died in an elevator accident that occurred Wednesday, October 30, 2013, around 6:45p.m. at Decatur Morgan Hospital, in Decatur, Alabama. Atkins was a maintenance worker at the hospital and was apparently attempting to repair a freight elevator at the loading dock on the Decatur General campus when the elevator moved down unexpectedly, pinning him between the floor and the bottom of the elevator, fatally crushing him. Continue reading

San Francisco, CA – Man fatally crushed in BART elevator shaft

According to the Huffington Post, a man was crushed by an elevator in San Francisco’s BART subway station on Monday, March 11, 2013. The circumstances surrounding the incident remain somewhat unclear, but the report indicates that a passenger boarded the elevator and registered a cab call in the up direction before hearing “a crunching sound and a man yelp.” The elevator then stopped with that passenger entrapped. The entrapped passenger called for help, and after being successfully rescued, authorities searched the hoistway and found the victim, who was immediately pronounced dead. Strangely, BART Police Lieutenant John Conneely indicated that “the man may have been sleeping atop the elevator” but that it was unclear how he entered the hoistway or how long he had been inside. Continue reading

Mumbai, India – 18 year-old girl crushed to death under elevator while sweeping pit

According to Indian news agency DNA (Daily News & Analysis, an 18 year-old girl was crushed to death Wednesday, January 9, 2013, after she entered the hoistway, apparently to sweep the pit. The report is somewhat unusual in that it specifically describes that the motor of the “old lift” somehow crashed down on top of her, fatally crushing her. The victim died at the scene. An employee at the building who was not named described the building as “dilapidated”. A comment on that article also notes that there may have been other similar incidents at that location. Continue reading

East Harlem, NY – Elderly man in critical condition after elevator crushes his legs

According to ABC 7 Eyewitness News, an 85 year-old man was left in critical condition after an elevator in his public housing apartment building crushed both his legs around 5 p.m. Sunday, December 30, 2012. Firefighters reported that when they arrived, the elevator was stuck between the first and second floor, with the man’s body inside the cab, and his legs dangling outside the cab on the first floor. Firefighters used air bags and other extrication methods to free the man’s legs and pull him up into the elevator cab. The victim was rushed to nearby Harlem Hospital where he was listed in critical condition, with both of his legs fractured. Continue reading

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

Washington Heights, NY – Building superintendent trapped in pit, suffers head injury

According to the New York Post, the superintendent at a building in Washington Heights was seriously injured Thursday, August 16, 2012 when he was struck in the head by an elevator counterweight. The victim, whose name was not immediately released, went in the pit around 8:40 a.m. in order to retrieve keys that a tenant had accidentally dropped through the gap between the floor sills. The elevator had apparently ascended to the sixth floor as the counterweight descended into the pit, striking the victim’s head. 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