Elevator accident kills 41-year-old woman in Manhattan office building

[MH1]

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/elevator-accident-kills-1-manhattan-article-1.991368?localLinksEnabled=false

Begin quote:
"A woman was killed in a horrific elevator accident in a Manhattan building Wednesday morning, police sources said.

The 41-year-old victim had just gotten into the lift about 10 a.m. when the elevator suddenly started ascending before the doors were completely closed, sources said.

The doomed woman was pinned between the elevator and shaft wall as the lift dragged her up two floors, the sources said.

The two other people inside the elevator looked on in horror.

Then suddenly, the elevator fell back down to the ground floor — taking the doomed woman and two other people with it, the sources said.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/elevator-accident-kills-1-manhattan-article-1.991368#ixzz1gX4hIHYG "
:End quote

My heart goes out to this woman, her family, co-workers, and everyone involved.

This may not immediately seem 'political' but I for one am tired of being forced to ride elevators instead of taking the stairs, due to the stairwell doors being locked. I think the public should be allowed to choose whether to walk 5 flights of stairs (or whatever), and be healthier for it, than put our lives in the hands of unknown building owners/maintenance staff.

And I bet whatever 'minor' injuries the other 2 in the elevator had, will be nothing to the post-traumatic stress of this incident.

[hedgehog]

1. Off-topic, but I couldn't help but notice the story next to this about finding the

remains of a murdered women. The story managed to use every synonym possible to make sue the reader knew that this woman had been a prostitute.

Stay classy, Daily News!

[MH1]

2. Yeah, sorry about the source, but it had more info

than the other sources I could find.

No one will ever mistake the Daily News for 'class', I'm sure.

[hedgehog]

8. Sorry if I seemed to be aiming at you, I was aiming at them! I've had to go to Fox more than once!

[Warpy]

3. If you find locked stairwells, notify the fire marshall

because that's illegal and dangerous as all hell.

If the place is worried about security, they'll install door alarms.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

5. Usually the doors are only locked from one side

So they can be used to go from a floor, into the stairwell, and down to the ground floor and out. In many cases, the only door to get out of a stairwell (without a key) is the ground floor.

So they probably meet fire marshalls' requirements. But no good for exercise.

[Warpy]

14. Gotcha. We couldn't lock them at all in hospitals

since the upper floors evacuated to the roof to wait for choppers in case of disaster that blocked lower floors. After we had a guy run out and jump off the roof, we got alarms for them.

Most of the people who tripped the alarm were smokers, not people who wanted a little exercise.

[MH1]

16. Exactly what the others said.

I couldn't reply sooner due to being at work in one of those buildings. I did take the stairs to exit this evening, as I usually do. But it ticks me off that I have to take the elevator up in the morning.

[Peregrine Took]

4. As I recall we had a similar situation in Chicago a few years ago.

It was in an old smaller office building just outside of the Loop - like a 5 story structure. A woman (again!) was caught in the door and the elevator began going up. Horrible!

[UpInArms]

7. more from your link

Records show 56 violations of the city’s building code involving some of the building's 13 elevators, dating back to 2001. The last citation occurred in 2009, and all of the complaints are listed as resolved by the city Buildings Department.

sounds like they didn't maintain those elevators quite in a sterling fashion

[JI7]

12. i hope the family sues , talk about lack of jobs while there needs to be so much work done

[tawadi]

9. My god

Sounds like something from one of the 'Final Destination' movies. What a terrible death.

[Demonaut]

10. She probaly died very quickly, for her sake I hope so

still just horrible

[JI7]

11. very sad, and for the family also, i always think what if someone we loved or even just knew

and liked were to die in this way. i wouldn't be able to stop thinking about the poor loved one. even in this case where i have no idea who the woman is or what she looks like i can't stop thinking of it.

i had a similar feeling when in California maybe a month or so back a woman died when a tree fell on her car. something where a few seconds /minutes could have prevented these things.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

13. The woman was a good friend of DUer rbnyc:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10187539

[hedgehog]

15. Time to dust this one off, i guess:

No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each man's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.

[rbnyc]

17. +1

Thanks for that.

[tabasco]

18. That's some fucked up shit.

Goddamn.

[rbnyc]

19. This is a better article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/15/nyregion/elevator-accident-kills-a-woman-in-a-madison-avenue-building.html

They seemed to capture some of her spirit here and really get that she was very special.

[Scottybeamer70]

20. Elevators!!

Every time I see a story about elevators, it brings back some terrifying moments I had when the elevator i was in fell 15 floors, free fall.
Thank goodness I was not injured...but the terror still remains.
May the poor woman RIP...........what a horrible way to die.