6 Elevators At Ohio State University Fail Safety Tests
Six dormitory elevators failed safety tests conducted by Ohio State University after a freshman was pinned and killed by an elevator in his residence hall, university officials said Tuesday.The six elevators, among 29 given a standard brake test, will be shut down until they are repaired and recertified, said Molly Ranz, the school’s director of facilities.
All six elevators had passed full-scale tests required every five years, including an August 2003 test that approved the elevator involved in the accident, Ranz said. That elevator also passed three spot safety checks in the past year, she said.
Ohio State plans to have all high-rise elevators in dormitories tested by Friday and the rest by next week.
Twenty-four people had crowded into the elevator on which Andrew Polakowski, 18, of Erie, Pa., was killed Friday night, a fire official said Monday. The 2,500-pound weight capacity of the elevator was exceeded by as much as 1,100 pounds, said Doug Smith, a battalion chief for the Columbus Division of Fire.
Authorities have not determined whether the extra weight caused a malfunction.
Polakowski was the last person in a group of students to enter the elevator on the dormitory’s third floor when it began to descend with the doors open, campus police said.
Polakowski tried to get back onto the third floor as someone shouted that the elevator was falling, said Rick Amweg, assistant chief of campus police.
The elevator wedged Polakowski against the floor of the third-floor lobby, Amweg said. Polakowski had chest and abdominal injuries and died of mechanical asphyxia, a coroner ruled.
In the past year, the university’s elevator repair service responded to six complaints about the elevator that killed Polakowski. In three cases, the elevator was either overloaded, someone was jumping inside or someone was temporarily trapped, according to university records. The records don’t provide additional details.