Very sad story: OSU student crushed to death by elevator

[Miss Mary]

Very sad story out of Columbus, OH. This really hits home b/c I have a college aged daughter living in a high rise dorm. Also we have many S2K college aged members - just be careful before you step out into the hall. My thoughts and prayers going out to this boy's family tonight.

http://www.wcpo.com/news/2006/local/10/ ... death.html

OSU Student Crushed To Death By Elevator

Reported by: A.P.
Web produced by: Neil Relyea
Photographed by: 9News
First posted: 10/21/2006 12:55:22 PM

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- An Ohio State University student was crushed to death by an elevator last night at a campus dormitory.

Police say 18-year-old Andrew Polakowski of Erie, Pennsylvania, was exiting the elevator at Stradley Hall onto the third floor while the elevator was moving down and he was crushed.

Police say the elevator doors were open at the time and they aren't sure why.

They say his death appears to be an accident.

It happened around 11:30 p.m.

Police are interviewing witnesses who were on the elevator and will talk with the elevator company today.

Polakowski was a freshman and pre-business major.

_____________

Here's another article, out of Columbus. It features the young man's picture:
http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=221104

[JonathanBelles]

that doesnt make sense, he steped off but how did he end up underneath?

[HollynLA]

how awful! Obviously there were some safety violations on the elevator for the doors to be open but yet it was moving? Something was definitely wrong.

[Miss Mary]

If you read the Columbus, OH link I provided at the end of my original post, it states that students had complained of elevator problems at this 11 story high-rise dorm building. One student said he had been stuck on one for 45 minutes. It was difficult to hold a door open to enter an elevator. So it sounds as if they were having maintenance problems already. Exiting an elevator quickly before the doors close shouldn't have resulted in an accident like this - that's probably an everyday occurrance in work places with high-rises. An elevator should not move until the doors are closed, correct? It sounds as if this elevator moved before the doors were closed.

Tragic, tragic story. One I plan on sharing with my college aged daughter.

Mary

[Stephanie]

What a terrible, freak accident! The college is in for a big lawsuit.

[GalvestonDuck]

Kind of reminds me of the doctor in Houston who was beheaded by the elevator. The doors closed before he was completely in the car. He was trapped by his shoulders and couldn't move. The car moved up and severed his head. Gruesome story, especially given the fact that one of his colleagues was in the car and was trapped in their with his severed head.

Very sad story, Miss Mary. I'm not sure about the college, but I'm sure the elevator company may have to pay a pretty penny if they are sued and it's found they were negligent in keeping the elevators safe.

[Stephanie]

Kind of reminds me of the doctor in Houston who was beheaded by the elevator. The doors closed before he was completely in the car. He was trapped by his shoulders and couldn't move. The car moved up and severed his head. Gruesome story, especially given the fact that one of his colleagues was in the car and was trapped in their with his severed head.

Very sad story, Miss Mary. I'm not sure about the college, but I'm sure the elevator company may have to pay a pretty penny if they are sued and it's found they were negligent in keeping the elevators safe.

[TexasStooge]

OMG!!

[HURAKAN]

In FIU the elevators for the parking garages most of the time are not working.

[Miss Mary]

Updated article out of Columbus:

http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php? ... A1-02.html

Shawn - I seem to recall the horrific end to the doctor's life at your hospital. I think you shared that tragedy with us? We all take the safety of elevators for granted in this day and age. Sad stories like this remind us accidents can and often do occur.

Mary

[pojo]

When I was at UW-Milwaukee... I had numerous elevator problems. UWM had 4 high rise dorms (North tower 26 floors, West tower 22 floors, East tower 18 floors and South tower had 24 floors).... there were times when we had a full elevator that only stopped on odd floors.... we were stuck between the wall on level 4 and the opening at 5... 45minutes with 15 people and backpacks. There were constant fire alarms that caused a mass rush of students to use the elevators. It wasn't a good situation.

[tomboudreau]

According to article in today's Pittsburgh Post Gazette - the elevator was overloaded....

Elevator that killed Erie student was overloaded
Monday, October 23, 2006

The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Twenty-four people were on a dormitory elevator that pinned and killed an Ohio State University freshman from Pennsylvania, exceeding the elevator's weight capacity by an estimated 800 to 1,000 pounds, a fire official said today.

The count came from a medic who interviewed survivors in a room immediately following the Friday night accident, said Doug Smith, a battalion chief for the Columbus Division of Fire. He said the elevator had a weight capacity of 2,500 pounds.

"If you take the average freshman college kid, you'd probably average their weight somewhere between 140 and 150 (pounds), so without a doubt it probably exceeded the weight," Chief Smith said.

Andrew Polakowski, 18, of Erie, Pa., was the last person in a group of students to enter the elevator on Stradley Hall's third floor when it unexpectedly began to descend with the doors open, campus police said.

Mr. Polakowski, a pre-business major, was pinned when he tried to escape through a gap between the top of the elevator and the third floor, police said. It was unclear if he tried to jump or climb out.

Mr. Polakowski, who had chest and abdominal injuries, died of mechanical asphyxia, Franklin County Coroner Bradley Lewis said.

Authorities have not concluded that the extra weight caused the elevator to malfunction. The case remains under investigation.

Inspectors from the state Department of Commerce returned to the scene today to continue their probe, officials said. It also released documents showing that the elevator had passed every safety test conducted by Otis Elevator Co. going back to 2003, including the most recent one, conducted July 24.

Inspectors are looking at the elevator's doors and other mechanical and electrical parts to determine if the elevator met state design, installation and safety standards, said Denise Lee, spokeswoman for the state commerce department.

University President Karen Holbrook also has asked university officials to arrange for an independent review of all dormitory elevators to ensure they are safe.

Some students said they have had minor problems with the elevators in Stradley Hall, which has 11 floors and more than 400 residents.

Erin Wilson, Stradley's resident manager, called 911 and told a dispatcher that a student was being crushed by an elevator.

"Between the second and third floor, the elevator is coming down on top of him. You can see him trapped on the third floor," Wilson said as people screamed in the background.

Ms. Wilson told the dispatcher she was in her room when the elevator alarm started ringing.

"I went out to investigate and people started coming down to say, 'Oh my God,' " Ms. Wilson said, according to a tape of the 911 call.

Mr. Polakowski's friends gathered all weekend at a friend's house in his hometown of Erie to console one another, said Dharmista Jethva, a friend of Mr. Polakowski's from McDowell High School, his alma mater.

Ms. Jethva said she last spoke to Polakowski a week ago and asked when he was coming home.

"He told me, 'Don't worry, I'll be home before Thanksgiving and we can hang out,' " Ms. Jethva said.

http://www.postgazette.com/pg/06296/732310-100.stm

[Miss Mary]

24 students on one elevator? OMG, what were they thinking? Sadly, maybe this young man was right to not stay on the elevator but in this case it was too late. Which is very sad. I brought this story to my college aged daughter. She is on the 4th floor of a 27 floor high rise dorm. She said don't worry mom, I take the stairs all the time. That was a relief. Thanks for the updated article.

[NEWeatherguy]

What a terrible, freak accident! The college is in for a big lawsuit.

The college could be in hot water, especially if they have their own maintenance department for only elevators and escalators. The University of Michigan, for example, has in-house service and maintenance programs for their several hunderd conveyance systems. However, a lawsuit could be split between the elevator maintenance/installer company and the university if OSU contracted out maintenance services.

Weight can't be ruled out, but in most elevators overloading is likely to lead to becoming stuck or, on newer systems, not leaving the floor without reducing the weight.

The probable cause is a "suicide" circuit that controls the relationship between doors and elevator movement. It may have malfunctioned, like in the Houston doctor case, allowing the elevator to override the brake and begin moving with the doors open. This setup is typically found on older elevator equipment which has not been modernized.

Newer or modernized elevators do not have this arrangement. Electronic locks and circuits make this virtually impossible on newer elevator equipment. The controller monitors the door position; open door means no movement until they close and lock completely.

And to echo Miss Mary's comment about looking before stepping off into the hall. This is a good practice. Sometimes elevators do not level perfectly with the floor, even newer installations, especailly when you have heavy load. Tripping may result.