Tag Archives: New Jersey

Paramus, NJ – 8 year-old girl suffers severe injuries after leg entrapped in Garden State Plaza escalator

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An 8-year-old girl was severely injured after her leg became entrapped by an escalator at the Westfield Garden State Plaza, located in Paramus, New Jersey, around 11:45 a.m. on the morning of Friday, August 16, 2013. The girl and her mother boarded the escalator on the lower level, headed towards the first floor. As they reached the top landing, the girl’s right foot apparently became entrapped between two steps, subsequently causing her leg to become entrapped as well. A nearby bystander reacted quickly and activated the emergency stop switch, which stopped the escalator, but the girl remained entrapped for some time until fire, police, and nearby bystanders were able to disassemble the landing to free the girl. No information was available the the time of publication that indicated what factors contributed to the incident, but we will continue to update this story as new information becomes available.

Watch this early report from ABC7 Eyewitness News:

According to escalator registration records published by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, there are 96 escalators registered in Paramus, New Jersey, and 20 of them are located at the Garden State Plaza. The mall was originally constructed in 1957, although it was not immediately clear what code year was applicable to these escalators. The Garden State Plaza is also notably home to what is reportedly the shortest escalator in the United States, and possibly the western hemisphere. The elevator photography community on YouTube has posted numerous videos of these escalators, including this video below, via YouTube user ih8thyssenkrupp:

Sources reporting this story include:

Jersey City, NJ – Malfunctioning PATH escalator runs backwards, injuring six

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Multiple news sources are reporting that at around 9 a.m. Monday, January 7, 2013, an escalator at the Exchange Place PATH station malfunctioned while numerous commuters were on board, leading to several injuries.

The incident, which was partially caught on video and posted to YouTube (below), depicts one of the station’s escalators, which was running upwards, suddenly reversed direction, as passengers piled up at the bottom and others tried to walk upwards to avoid getting dumped at the bottom landing. At least one man in the video appeared to have jumped on and clung to the balustrade between the escalators.

Reports regarding the number of victims were inconsistent, but it appears that between four and six victims suffered mostly minor injuries such as cuts and bruises, although at least one victim was hospitalized. The end of the YouTube video appears to depict a woman screaming in pain, although she was not seen on screen and the extent of her injuries remained unclear. Also, it appears that at some point after the malfunction started, the escalator stopped. It was not clear whether it was stopped because the malfunction tripped a built-in safety device or if someone activated the emergency stop switch.

The station has three 150-foot long escalators that provide access to and from the subway platform 75-feet below street level. The escalators are maintained by Schindler.

The station was badly flooded during Hurricane Sandy, although it was not known whether flood damage may have been a factor in this incident. One of the escalators was still out of service at the time of the incident, which now leaves the station with one functioning escalator.

Read the reports, published December 7, 2013, by the Wall Street Journal, MSNBC, and My FOX NY.

Atlantic City, NJ – Englishman hung 40 feet in the air after clothing caught by Revel escalator

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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. Court records indicate that the case has been referred to arbitration, and a representative of the resort, which is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, declined to comment.

The victim’s lawyer was quoted as saying “Revel resort features a huge atrium called the Ellipse which features a soaring double escalator intended to dramatically, as if in mid-air, whisk the clientele from the lobby floor to a mezzanine platform. These soaring escalators were intended as a fantasy aerial lift, which seemed to defy the laws of physics but have turned out, in reality, to have failed its ambitious purpose, becoming instead, a dangerous mechanism for physical injury.” Read the full story published March 28, 2013.

This incident re-iterates the importance of paying careful attention when riding on and standing near moving equipment such as escalators and moving walks. Generally, there are no safety devices which would stop the escalator in the event that fabric became entrapped in the handrail. Escalator handrails generally provide a good amount of friction because they are intended to be gripped by riders. However, because they often exhibit such high friction, they can entrap clothing or body parts.

In addition, the subject escalators in this incident have been noted by observers for their unusually high landings. The escalators referenced in this article criss-cross an open atrium up to a height of over 120 feet. Interestingly, the balustrade (handrail) heights on the escalators are at least six inches lower than the balustrades at the landing, which is an unusual inconsistency between typical building codes and elevator codes.