dorm elevator accident

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Trikat

Diamond Member
May 22, 2003
3,384
0
86
At my university the elevators are also pretty craptacular, but I haven't really heard any cases where someone dieds from an elevator accident. All i heard when I stayed on campus was how they kind broke down.
 

destrekor

Lifer
Nov 18, 2005
28,799
359
126
Originally posted by: rocadelpunk
that's fvcked up!

Why is it I'm hearing this for the first time on atot and not through a campus-wide e-mail?

president holbrook just sent an email to all students. at least, i just got it.
 

Brentx

Senior member
Jun 15, 2005
350
0
0
Wow, that is really sad :(. I guess I am lucky because here at Milwaukee our dorms are 26 floors for each of the buildings. So they really have to have them maintained, otherwise that could be a major problem if people were stuck.

But I go to other dorms in the UW system and they are just crap. I won't even go into the elevators at my friends dorms in UW Madison, cause I hear people get stuck in them all the time.
 

GeekDrew

Diamond Member
Jun 7, 2000
9,099
19
81
Originally posted by: rocadelpunk
that's fvcked up!

Why is it I'm hearing this for the first time on atot and not through a campus-wide e-mail?

Where the heck have you been? It has been all over the media, and I know that it was noted on some OSU networks, though probably not all.
 

destrekor

Lifer
Nov 18, 2005
28,799
359
126
Originally posted by: GeekDrew
Originally posted by: rocadelpunk
that's fvcked up!

Why is it I'm hearing this for the first time on atot and not through a campus-wide e-mail?

Where the heck have you been? It has been all over the media, and I know that it was noted on some OSU networks, though probably not all.

to give him credit.. i haven't been following the news lately, and hadn't even looked online. if not for my RA, my next source was likely going to be facebook, where I stumbled upon a group about the death and the elevators. that was yesterday (sunday).
 

rh71

No Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
52,844
1,049
126
worst nightmare is trying to do that while the thing actually falls fast... decapitation, etc.

but maybe dying a slow death is worse.
 

Papagayo

Platinum Member
Jul 28, 2003
2,303
24
81
Wow,
I lived in that hall for a year in 90s..

We used to call it "Straddle me Hall" Building
 

dmcowen674

No Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
54,889
47
91
www.alienbabeltech.com
Originally posted by: Jeff7
I smell a lawsuit for gross negligence.

Some things just need to be taken care of immediately.
Of a lesser scale, in the campus apartment here, one of the ancient circuit breakers in the breaker box was making an odd buzzing sound, which sounded like internal arcing. I simply told maintenance that they needed to replace it immediately, as it was a fire hazard. They did in fact replace it, which is rather unusual. The apartments are treated more like privately owned places, where maintenance is just a pain in the ass, and is to be avoided if at all possible.

Large, heavy machinery that can turn deadly is not something that you want to go cheap on, especially when it's known to be malfunctioning.

Each one of the kids should be sued, not the School:

10-23-2006 Elevator overloaded before accident

Twenty-four people had crowded onto a dormitory elevator before it pinned and killed an Ohio State University freshman, exceeding its weight capacity by as much as 1,100 pounds, a fire official said Monday.

He said the elevator had a 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).

Andrew Polakowski was the last person to enter the elevator on Stradley Hall's third floor when it began to descend with the doors open, campus police said.
=============================================
He shouldn't have gotten in and at least 8 kids should've been smart enough to get off.
 

manlymatt83

Lifer
Oct 14, 2005
10,051
44
91
Originally posted by: acemcmac
wow...


rose.gif
 

manlymatt83

Lifer
Oct 14, 2005
10,051
44
91
Originally posted by: destrekor
Originally posted by: dmcowen674
Originally posted by: destrekor
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/news-st...ispatch/2006/10/22/20061022-A1-02.html

that's even scarier to me because I personally know people who have gotten stuck in the elevators here, not to mention me and my roomies did too (not in my dorm building, as mine is only 4 floors and is pointless to ride the elevator, but mine is even more scary so I don't like it period). but yea, we climbed out of ours, as thankfully it was still mostly on a floor, had to jump about two feet. but we had to pry the doors open and everything.
so to see this news is really hard. im hoping this helps get OSU's attention and start fixing the elevators in the dorms.

That sucks

rose.gif


Important lesson - don't go past open doors when there is a malfunction.

That's why there is a trap door above the Elevator for Emergency escape access.

as true as that is, using the emergency escape is really only meant in case there is like, a fire or you've been stuck for a VERY long time. The ones in these elevators are painted over, so one would probably have to kick it very hard, which would be difficult in of itself. plus, being stuck for not even an hour, to me, wouldn't warrant climbing out through that, becuase then you introduce the new game of, what the hell do you do next?
thus why its for emergencies, where someone is probably rescuing you through that trap-door anyway.


If its painted over.. thats a cause for concern too and they should fix that.
 

boredhokie

Senior member
May 7, 2005
625
0
0
So, the elevator started going down and he decided to leave while it was moving? Or was it stationary and the doors were open and he just tried to leave like normal, and the elevator freaked out and smacked him in the head?

If it's the former then that's a pretty dumb thing to do in an elevator, he must have been drunk or showing off or something. Terrible way to die either way.
 

destrekor

Lifer
Nov 18, 2005
28,799
359
126
Originally posted by: boredhokie
So, the elevator started going down and he decided to leave while it was moving? Or was it stationary and the doors were open and he just tried to leave like normal, and the elevator freaked out and smacked him in the head?

If it's the former then that's a pretty dumb thing to do in an elevator, he must have been drunk or showing off or something. Terrible way to die either way.

what was said to have happened, at least to my understanding, was that it started to drop, not descend in the normal motion of an elevator.
so, he may have freaked and tried to get out. the doors stayed open according to all reports, and he got pinned between the floor of the 3rd floor and the top of the elevator, and slowly suffocated, he was not crushed, which backs up the idea that it was just slowly dropping and not actually being moved. if it was being moved its likely it would have thoroughly crushed and destroyed his chest, not just suffocate.

it sucks, and thats the thing the tests don't show. dorm elevators, on friday nights, are terribly abused. more people than should be in there, not to mention people will jump and whatnot.
if there was alcohol or not involved, i can't see that being to blame. i can say, under adrenaline, I'd likely try and get out if the elevator was starting to drop, at least, depending upon the speed of the drop and if there was a lot of room. mere feet at the top to where i have to waste time climbing and then pulling myself out, I dunno. i can't judge since I wasn't there, but under normal circumstances I'd try and exit the elevator in almost all situations. im not prepared to die in an elevator.

but yea, i agree with dmcowen674, there aren't much grounds for a lawsuit, simply because it was kids being stupid, and he took two risks, (1) entering an overloaded elevator, (2) trying to exit an elevator that had begun descending, either through normal mechanical processes, or by stress from weight.
 

rocadelpunk

Diamond Member
Jul 23, 2001
5,589
1
81
Originally posted by: GeekDrew
Originally posted by: rocadelpunk
that's fvcked up!

Why is it I'm hearing this for the first time on atot and not through a campus-wide e-mail?

Where the heck have you been? It has been all over the media, and I know that it was noted on some OSU networks, though probably not all.



studying most of the weekend :0

abstract algebra midterm today.


edit: just to spread some rumor around

I was in record store today and girl was talking about it...apparantly her friend is the r.a.? or works in stradley. Anyway, apparantly the kid is claustrophobic (sp) and that is why he tried to climb out.

/rumor
 

destrekor

Lifer
Nov 18, 2005
28,799
359
126
Originally posted by: rocadelpunk
Originally posted by: GeekDrew
Originally posted by: rocadelpunk
that's fvcked up!

Why is it I'm hearing this for the first time on atot and not through a campus-wide e-mail?

Where the heck have you been? It has been all over the media, and I know that it was noted on some OSU networks, though probably not all.



studying most of the weekend :0

abstract algebra midterm today.


edit: just to spread some rumor around

I was in record store today and girl was talking about it...apparantly her friend is the r.a.? or works in stradley. Anyway, apparantly the kid is claustrophobic (sp) and that is why he tried to climb out.

/rumor

that would make sense, but either way... yea having 24 people already in the elevator would probably require me to be drunk to even step in.
 

Trevelyan

Diamond Member
Dec 10, 2000
4,077
0
71
Yeah my friend almost got his hand cut off when an elevator at Univ of Miami pinned it in.

Stupid universities with their piss-poor student housing.
 

destrekor

Lifer
Nov 18, 2005
28,799
359
126
Originally posted by: jiggahertz
Originally posted by: Pablo
Originally posted by: huberm
THE Ohio State University

Silly.


What's the point of this? It's not like Ohio has a plethora of great state universities.

its a tradition to include the 'The', because its one, part of the name, and two, faculty and students trying to help let people know there is pride and reputation, and that reputation is only increasing heavily each year.
 

OrganizedChaos

Diamond Member
Apr 21, 2002
4,524
0
0
think of the 20 + people in the elevator watching him pinned to the ceiling kicing and thrashing for his live and then just stop moving, must suck to be them.
 

Eli

Super Moderator | Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
50,419
8
81
Originally posted by: OrganizedChaos
think of the 20 + people in the elevator watching him pinned to the ceiling kicing and thrashing for his live and then just stop moving, must suck to be them.
Wow, were that many really onboard?........