06:51 PM MST on Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Associated Press and KING Staff Reports

BELLEVUE, Wash. — State elevator inspectors should know in the next day or so why an important safety device was either broken or over-ridden in a fatal elevator accident.

A 25-year-old man died when he fell down an elevator shaft Monday night as he tried to climb out of an elevator stuck between floors at the North Tower at Lincoln Square, a new shopping and entertainment complex in Bellevue.

The King County medical examiner's office identified the victim as Jeremy Johnson. Fire Department spokesman Lieutenant Bruce Kroon said the victim lived in Kirkland.

KING

A 25-year-old man died when he fell down an elevator shaft Monday night as he tried to climb out of an elevator stuck between floors at the North Tower at Lincoln Square, a new shopping and entertainment complex in Bellevue.

Police and firefighters responded shortly after 8 p.m. to an initial report of a man trapped in an elevator. When they arrived, they found four people who managed to climb out of the elevator safely and the deceased man who had fallen several stories down an open elevator shaft, Kroon said.

The parking structure with the elevator is about five stories tall, and it was believed the man fell 30 to 50 feet, although that was being measured by police investigating the death, Kroon said.

Police were still investigating how the elevator became stuck between floors. Investigators said before the group left the elevator, they were in contact with the elevator maintenance company. But instead of waiting for help, they pried open the elevator doors and decided to climb out instead.

"They were able to get the doors open on the elevator and were exiting the elevator. The first four were able to get out. The fifth individual got out of the elevator and somehow fell backwards into the elevator shaft," said Kroon.

He said the five people — three men and two women — were all young adults and apparently were together.

The elevators are new, and Kroon said he was not aware of any problems with them previously, nor any indications there was a power failure at the time of the accident.

"I yelled out, 'Is there a phone in there,' They're like, 'No, there's no phone,'" said one witness. "I opened the door and there's no phone in there either. I thought all elevators were supposed to have some kind of way to reach the authorities if something goes wrong."

A KING 5 inspection of the elevator showed no phone inside, but there was a call button for help.

Management for Lincoln Square issued a statement that said in part:

"As a close-knit, family-oriented company we are deeply distressed and concerned about the welfare of all of our customers and offer our sincere condolences to the young man's family and friends during this difficult time.

We are working closely with the Bellevue Police Department while this accident is under investigation and are providing full and complete information and access to the area."

Bellevue police, management from Lincoln Square, and the maintenance company in charge of the elevator were continuing their investigation into the cause of the accident.

The incident is not the first accident at Lincoln Square. During construction, three workers were injured when an elevator plunged some six stories.

Lincoln Square, located downtown in this suburb east of Seattle, is a $500 million complex that includes shops, restaurants, theaters, a hotel tower and underground parking garage.

Inspectors focus on doors

There are around 600,000 elevators in the United States, and people ride in them some 120 billion times each year.

“Elevators are by far one of the safest means of transportation that there is,” said Jack Day, chief elevator inspector Jack Day, Chief Elevator Inspector for the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries.

With the exception of the cities of Seattle and Spokane, he and 20 other inspectors conduct more than 13,000 elevator inspections each year. The elevator in question is brand new and was inspected last Oct.  27, and there are no violations.

The kind of accident that happened Monday night used to be common, when somebody getting off an elevator is able to pry open the doors, and then loses their balance once they climb down only to fall into the shaft.

“If an elevator stops, and the doors don't open you're supposed to push the alarm. If they have a phone in there, contact the building and wait,” said Leslie Schrader of the Elevator & Escalator Safety Foundation. “That is the only guaranteed safe way to exit a stuck elevator.”

KING

The man jumped onto the floor from the elevator, then fell backwards.

According to Bellevue police, that's what happened at first. The stuck men used the alarm and intercom in the elevator. But then something happened that shouldn't have. Any elevator installed since 1984 has what's called a door restrictor that should have prevented the doors from being opened from the inside.  

Jack Day said the opening of the doors is right now is a key focus in the investigation.

“It could be faulty, or they could have muscled it past, but again we don't know that,” he said.

Elevator safety tips

The Elevator Escalator Safety Foundation said there are 600,000 passenger elevators in the U.S. which carry nearly 120 billion passengers a year.  The foundation says there are simple rules you should always follow when riding an elevator.

*Watch your step: Elevators don’t always stop at the same level as the floor

*If the doors don’t open, ring the alarm and wait

*If there’s a fire, use the stairs