Slush Pile: Fun in elevators

2006 Slush Pile

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Fun in elevators

2006 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

So five young Darwin hopefuls are enjoying there time at a new shopping center in Belleview Washington when they decided to take a trip on the elevator. Well the 10 to 20 seconds it takes to make the 4 story or so trip was to much for the eager young hopefuls to stand still so no doubt after much thought NOT these budding young geniuses proceeded to start jumping up and down in the elevator till the elevator not doubt under considerable stressed stalled. Let me take this moment to make one thing clear this is a Very new high end shopping plaza in the middle of Washington States most affluent towns all the equipment functioned as designed and was in full working order.

Back to our heroes the last intelligent thing they did was to pick up the emergency phone and contact help eighteen minuets later when help was still responding these bright bulbs decided to effect there own escape. They force open two sets of doors wiggle though a 10 inch opening and proceed one by one to drop down to the next floor that is till are final hero made the fatal error that by all rights should guarantee his immortality in these hollowed chronicles.

Jeremy Lynn Johnson of Kirkland Washington another town where they are long on money and short on brains miscalculated his landing and proceeding to fall forty feet to the bottom of the elevator shaft thus ensuring his removal from the gene pool the news article makes no mention of kids so his removal looks complete.

One can only wonder what the other four will do next time they are in a Darwin type situation.

Here is the actual new article: BELLEVUE - An elevator accident in which a man died at a new shopping and entertainment complex was preventable, according to a report by the state Department of Labor and Industries.

Five people inside an elevator car in the North Tower at Lincoln Square went to extraordinary lengths to escape an elevator car stuck between floors, including prying open two sets of doors and wiggling their way through a 10-inch opening, state regulators said in the report released Friday.

Agency investigators found that the group of three men and two women caused the elevator to stop Feb. 20 by inappropriately jumping in the car. They used an intercom to call for help, waited 18 minutes, and then used significant effort to pry open both the elevator and hoistway doors. They then crawled through the 10-inch opening and dropped to the lobby floor.

The parking structure with the elevator is about five stories tall.

Jeremy Lynn Johnson, 25, of Kirkland, was the last to crawl out of the elevator car. He was lowering himself out when he misjudged where his feet should land and fell 40 feet down the shaft. He died at the scene.

"This was a preventable and unfortunate accident," the report concluded. "The passengers did not demonstrate clear-mindedness and good judgment."

Johnson and his friends "did not seem aware of things that most people would be terrified to do," said Elaine Fischer, state labor department spokeswoman.

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

The elevators were new. But a safety device meant to keep the inner doors closed was installed incorrectly, though Johnson and his friends would have been strong enough to escape anyway, Fischer said.

The elevator company, Otis Elevator, had promised to install a four-foot piece of metal that helps prevent people from falling down open shafts, but instead had installed a 22-inch model, according to the report.

"It cannot be determined, considering the unknown state of mind, the physical adeptness, and other attributes of Mr. Johnson at that time, whether a 48-inch toe guard would have helped him in any case," the report stated.

Both safety devices have since been installed on all four Lincoln Square elevators, as required by the state.

Submitted on 04/29/2006

Submitted by: Carlo Gnecchi
Reference: komonews.com 04/29/06

>> Moderator Scores <<

Sheryl said:
Definitely Toss: Repeat
Thanks for the story, Carlo. This one's already in the Slush Pile, titled "Elevator Ride". Please remember to do a search before submitting a story :)

James said:
Definitely Toss: Repeat
As Sheryl said...! :-)

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Fun in elevators

2006 Reader Submission Pending Acceptance

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2006 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

>> The Darwin Awards, by Wendy Northcutt <<
Link to Fight Evil.