Freight elevator involved in deadly incident

Freight elevators are commonly used as a way to transport bulky and heavy items that would crowd out people on regular elevators and be too unwieldy to carry up stairs. Sometimes, unfortunately, accidents can happen with those freight elevators.

One such accident occurred in Manhattan. The victim, whose name has not been released to the press, was a discount store worker. The worker, 43, was in the basement of the building on W. 182nd St. and was in the process of loading boxes onto the lift. Suddenly it lurched upwards, resulting in the worker being pinned to the ceiling.

The accident occurred resulted in the death of the worker. Co-workers mourned the loss, with one saying that the worker who died was a very good person. She said that she and others had cried a lot due to the untimely death of their friend and colleague.

The website of the New York Buildings Department does not have a record of an elevator for that address. It is not known whether or not the elevator was permitted to be in that building. The owner of the building next door says that the elevator was installed when the discount store was first opened. The space it is in was previously an auto repair shop.

The Buildings Department is investigating, and is working to determine how the accident happened. The victim is originally from the Dominican Republic and has lived in the United States for over 20 years. In cases like this, relatives of the person hurt will often want to seek out legal advice to determine their legal options and decide about any legal action that they may want to pursue.

Source: New York Daily News, “Freight elevator crushes 43-year-old worker to death in upper Manhattan,” Chauncey Alcorn, John Annese and Rich Schapiro, July 24, 2016