Wheelchair Bound Man Falls to Death in Elevator

**gnome** · October-05-09, 06:29 PM

Now, I don't know how much the City is going to lose on this one, but

Detroit, [[wxyz)- A 58-year-old man died after falling eight floors down an elevator shaft at the Industrial Building Apartments in downtown Detroit.

The man was in a wheelchair and according to neigbhors, he went to back into the elevator, the doors opened and it was not there.

**buildingsofdetroit** · October-05-09, 06:51 PM

Does the city own the Industrial-Stevens Apartments?

**buildingsofdetroit** · October-05-09, 07:10 PM

Looks like it's owned by these guys, though it says they also have the Griswold, which went into foreclosure earlier this year.
http://wingatemanagementco.com/affordablehomes.nxg

**wolverine** · October-05-09, 07:24 PM

I just don't know how this type of stuff happens these days, unless these elevators never saw an upgrade.

Makes me nervous living in an old highrise building.

**gnome** · October-05-09, 07:35 PM

My sincere apologies to the City, I thought Wingate was just the management company and not the owners. I stand corrected, thank you.

**msamslex** · October-05-09, 08:27 PM

Wingate's headquarters is located in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Had a relative who used to live in one of their buildings years ago.

**Jimaz** · October-05-09, 09:24 PM

Wasn't there another thread here about a faulty falling elevator here? I couldn't find it. Was it the same one?

All I can remember is that someone experienced falling several stories.

**Meddle** · October-05-09, 10:15 PM

There is definitely a shared liability here. You don't roll forwards, backwards or anywhere else without looking. OK, so there was a failure with the door safety. But the greater issue is him rolling without looking.

Same as a malfunctioning traffic light. You don't sail through the intersection. You look to make sure it's safe first.

Ravine · October-05-09, 10:21 PM

Meddle, I see your point, but wheelchair-riders almost always enter elevators that way, and I think the man's family will be able to argue that he had a reasonable expectation, when the little bell thingy rang, or the light came on, or whatever, and the door opened, that a goddam elevator car was actually there.

**Meddle** · October-05-09, 10:32 PM

'Reasonable expectation' and 'reality' don't always mesh. You have to be SURE beyond any expectation.

**gazhekwe** · October-05-09, 10:34 PM

I think it was DetroitDad. He was in the elevator at the time.

**eno** · October-05-09, 10:53 PM

What a sinking feeling that must have been. Too bad he didn't live on the 13th floor. Levitation might has cushioned his fall. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdWXE...om=PL&index=29

Ravine · October-05-09, 10:56 PM

"'Reasonable expectation' and 'reality' don't always mesh."

Of course. That is why the concept of "reasonable expectation" exists.

**Gistok** · October-05-09, 11:41 PM

Originally Posted by Jimaz

Wasn't there another thread here about a faulty falling elevator here? I couldn't find it. Was it the same one?

All I can remember is that someone experienced falling several stories.

Let's see dead people in elevators.... IIRC these were mentioned in the past on DYES...

1) dead man as a frozen popsicle at bottom of Roosevelt Warehouse elevator shaft.

2) death of a man in a Trolley Plaza elevator malfunction, may have been elevator free fall...

3) death of former owner of the Wurlitzer Building... elevator door opened with no elevator, owner stepped into the void...

**Gistok** · October-06-09, 12:21 AM

Here's the story from the Associated Press... a different twist of events... it may not all have been the elevators fault...

"DETROIT - Detroit police say a 58-year-old man died when his motorized wheelchair fell eight floors down an elevator shaft in a downtown building.

Police spokesman John Roach says it appears the wheelchair had been moving erratically and bumping into the elevator door on the eighth floor of the residential building Monday afternoon.

Roach says witness statements are conflicting, but at some point the door opened. The wheelchair then lurched forward or backward into the shaft.
Police are investigating the incident as an apparent accident."

**reddog289** · October-06-09, 01:21 AM

I feel bad for the poor guy.What a bad way to go.

**Meddle** · October-06-09, 01:43 AM

Originally Posted by Gistok

it appears the wheelchair had been moving erratically and bumping into the elevator door

The wheelchair then lurched forward or backward into the shaft.

Why did I just have a flashback to a Night Court episode with Dan Fielding and his out of control wheelchair?

**reddog289** · October-06-09, 01:46 AM

Another show I miss on Nick at Nite.

**Maple Leaf Rag** · October-06-09, 11:49 AM

Leon Klinghoffer anyone? Too soon?

EastSider · October-06-09, 11:58 AM

Originally Posted by Maple Leaf Rag

Leon Klinghoffer anyone? Too soon?

Sure, he was murdered by terrorists after they hijacked the building.

That is about the stupidest post I've read today.

**eno** · October-06-09, 12:35 PM

I thought Klinghoffer was executed while on a cruise ship and his body was dumped into the sea.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Klinghoffer

here's your fucking 10 characters

**buildingsofdetroit** · October-06-09, 01:34 PM

Originally Posted by Gistok

3) death of former owner of the Wurlitzer Building... elevator door opened with no elevator, owner stepped into the void...

Whoa! I hadn't heard about this? Which owner? How long ago?

**Diehard** · October-06-09, 02:01 PM

Happened to me at the Lafayette Lofts. Luckily I looked and didn't die.

**Ray1936** · October-06-09, 03:26 PM

Originally Posted by Gistok

3) death of former owner of the Wurlitzer Building... elevator door opened with no elevator, owner stepped into the void...

Quite a while ago, maybe 1983 or so. Guy that owned the building made his home on the 7th or 8th floor. His name was Nick, can't recall his surname. Lived there with his wife. Only two tenants at the time was a religious book store on the ground floor and the Detroit Police Lieutenants and Sergeants Association [[union) on the 6th floor. Apparently the doors to the elevator opened at his 'home' on the upper floor; he stepped in to a void.

Fall didn't hurt him a bit. Sudden stop at the bottom knocked the bejesus out of him.

**Jimaz** · October-06-09, 05:00 PM

I can imagine a simple mechanical safty device that would make it physically impossible for the doors to open without a car being there. It would have to have an override feature for maintenance, fire, etc. though.

There was a forumer here who recently reported being in an elevator car while it fell a few stories. Maybe it was DetroitDad as gazhekwe suggested. I wish I could find the thread.

These failures should not be possible.