Tag Archives: pileup

Duluth, MN – 4 small children, 1 woman injured in escalator pileup

by peter | 1 Comment

Four young children and woman suffered injuries on Wednesday, June 26, 2013, around 1:05 p.m., after an escalator accident occurred at the Wells Fargo building in downtown Duluth, Minnesota. According to local news reports, a group of 20 children and their daycare providers boarded the escalator traveling downwards. One of the children was apparently afraid to step off the escalator, creating a pileup behind them. Further complicating the situation, the children were apparently tied together or otherwise connected to a rope, causing a “chain reaction” when the pileup began. One of the children suffered a severe ankle injury; the remaining four were treated for minor cuts and bruises.

Remember to step off immediately when reaching the end of an escalator. Never let feet “slide off” the end of an escalator; step over the comb teeth, and move away from the end of an escalator so that others behind you have room to exit.

Sources reporting this story include:

San Antonio, TX – 20 injured after convention center escalator suddenly reverses, dumps passengers

by peter | Leave a comment

On Wednesday, May 15, 2013, around 1 p.m., approximately 20 people suffered mostly minor injuries when an escalator at Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas, malfunctioned and suddenly reversed direction uncontrollably, causing passengers to be dumped at the bottom landing. Fourteen of the victims were hospitalized; the remaining six were treated at the scene. The convention center was hosting a group of Dish Network employees at the time of the incident.

According to eyewitnesses, the employees had just concluded their lunch break and were returning to their meeting when the incident occurred. Eyewitnesses also described seeing an escalator mechanic working on the escalator before the incident occurred.

A spokesperson for the City of San Antonio revealed that KONE is the contractor responsible for the escalators are the convention center. The spokesperson also confirmed that KONE was on-site during the event which is “normal procedure during large conventions,” however they did not confirm eyewitness reports of KONE servicing the incident escalator earlier that day.

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations is investigating the incident but has not released any statement regarding the cause. A follow-up story by KENS5 San Antonio noted that numerous lawsuits had already been filed against the city.

Sources reporting this incident include:

The story was widely reported by local television news stations. Where available, the reports are embedded below.

NBC News 4 San Antonio spoke with a number of eyewitnesses for their evening broadcast:

An early report from KSAT-TV, an ABC affiliate in San Antonio:

video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player

KENS5 San Antonio evening report:

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

by peter | Leave a comment

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.