Girls Trapped Under Elevator at School: ‘I Was Like, We’re Going to Die’

[RamboLiberal]

Three Oklahoma City middle school students are safe after being trapped under an elevator at school, but a newly released 911 call gives a glimpse into what one of the young girls called an “agonizing” experience.

“Oh my God. We’re trapped under an elevator,” a girl’s voice can be heard saying in the 911 call. In the background can be heard high-pitched screams from her friends yelling “Please help us. Now.”

The two seventh-graders and one sixth-grader from the Classen School for Advanced Studies spent about 40 minutes trapped under the 500-pound elevator on Tuesday before being rescued. They lay on their backs and struggled to breathe with less than a foot of space between the bottom of the elevator and the ground.

One of the girls, 12-year-old Ambri Tygard, credits her friend’s combat boots with saving their lives.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2011/11/girls-trapped-under-elevator-i-was-like-were-going-to-die/

[alp227]

1. How many stories in that building?

I don't see why a middle school would need an elevator.

[Tesha]

3. *ALL* multistory public buildings require elevators for the handicapped per the ADA. (NT)

[david_vincent]

13. I work at a college

There is one elevator on campus, in the library. There are other multistory buildings on campus, none of which has an elevator, the ADA notwithstanding.

[Tesha]

16. The requirement cuts in when you do any renovation (beyond some threshold). (NT)

[ThomCat]

20. Older buildings are grand-father claused

to be exempt until new construction is done. If your college ever renovates, and the renovation is to a large enough portion of each building, they would have to become accessible.

There are a lot of older buildings that are not accessible because of the grand-father clause.

[belcffub]

8. my kids two story school has an elevator...

I think most around us do...

[belcffub]

9. a friend of mine had to deal with what happens when elevators go wrong

we both work at a Public College... he had been here since the early 60's (retired about ten years ago)... back in the early 70's the RA's had the elevator keys to get things that fell down the shaft... one time a RA went in to get something and got tangled up as the elevator started moving... they had unlocked the doors but did not disable the rest of the system like they were supposed to... he saw the aftermath... that was the last year RA's had those keys...

[MountainLaurel]

10. Because there might be students in wheelchairs?

:wtf:

[quinnox]

2. amazing story, just think if one of them had been claustrophobic

It gives me a nightmare just thinking about it...

[WillParkinson]

4. If they weren't before...

They probably will be now.

[The Genealogist]

25. My anxiety rose just reading this and thinking about it

I am very claustrophobic. Being caught in a small space like that is a nightmare of mine.

[dtexdem]

5. This sounds like a very-unsafe elevator.

It would be unsafe for adults, much less in a middle school.

[Occulus]

17. Oh, it is.

I was under the impression that most building codes regarding elevators required enough space under them so people wouldn't be crushed if they were somehow trapped under one.

If those building codes don't exist, as they obviously didn't in this case, they should, and this is why.

[MineralMan]

6. The outer doors never should have opened without the elevator

in position at that floor. The safety systems are defective. There's supposed to be an interlock that prevents the doors from opening unless the car is positioned properly at that floor. That interlock isn't working. Very dangerous.

[Tesha]

19. In any modern elevator, there are several independent interlocks.

The corridor doors don't have any opening mechanism;
they simply dock on to the car doors when the car is
nearly-leveled on that floor. And it's only when the
car doors are docked into the corridor doors that the
hall doors can be unlocked (unless you have the special
fire-access key).

The car doors are operated by an electric "door
machine" that is carried on top of the car. And
the door machine will only operate when the elevator
car is appropriately "leveled" on the floor.

Tesha

[MineralMan]

21. Yes, well...something failed to operate properly. If it had operated

properly, those kids would never have been able to enter the shaft under a car on a higher floor.

[Tesha]

24. Or they simply used a key/tool to open the hall doors, jumped into the pit, and then...

..."Oh shit!"

Tesha

[apnu]

7. They were under the elevator, which means they got the doors opened before the car arrived...

... and then, somehow, confused the elevator shaft for the elevator car? Even though shafts are deeper than the car's floor when at the door, by at least a foot so they had to step down into the shaft to get there. And they climbed inside anyway? And then they closed the doors somehow? With out buttons or handles... and then realized their mistake? Sitting in a dirty, dimly lit pit?

Something's not right with this story. I'm sorry for the terror the girls faced, and the 911 tape clearly shows they were terrified, and I'm glad they survived. I can believe it if they pressed a button and the doors malfunctioned and opened before the car arriving, but the schools says the elevator's use is restricted and locked. So how did they get the door opened? Malfunction? Stolen key?

There's a lot wrong here.

[HereSince1628]

11. I agree there is a lot not yet being told...

But, is it possible for people to do things which seem very very unlikely? Absolutely!

[Sherman A1]

12. Agreed

There needs to be more information, this just doesn't sound right.

[kath]

15. Yep -"the school’s principal said that the elevator is only used by students who are injured or

handicapped and that the door to the elevator is always locked".
I've wondered about this since I first heard the story -- were the little darlings doing something they shouldn't have been doing? Sure wouldn't surprise me. Even thougth they got the scare of their lives, they should still be punished if there was wrongdoing here.

[Raine]

22. "little darlings"

geesh. :eyes: :-(

[RamboLiberal]

14. This is an old-fashioned style of elevator

This is an old-fashioned style of elevator, where one opens a door and then moves back a gate to get onto the lift. Both the door and the gate were supposed to be locked. It's not clear how the girls gained access or why they did it.

The elevator, installed in 1994, is only meant to be used by students who can't use the stairs.

District spokeswoman Tierney Tinnin said a teacher keeps the key to the metal door. One student who uses the elevator daily has a key to the gate. Anyone else needing to use the elevator would need to contact the school office.

Tinnin said school officials have talked to two of the three girls involved in the accident, but did not release what they said about how they got into the elevator shaft.



Read more: http://newsok.com/3-oklahoma-city-students-screamed-cried-for-help-after-being-trapped-under-elevator/article/3623858#ixzz1dzx3bLIp

[lumberjack_jeff]

18. Filed under "it seemed like a good idea at the time"

Advanced studies indeed.

[Nye Bevan]

23. I *thought* we were going to die, I *feared* we were going to die.

PLEASE not "I was like, we're going to die"!