COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Officials continued to investigate after a man was killed in an elevator shaft Monday morning.
NBC 4 reported with the FAST FACTS.
Columbus fire was called to the scene of the now-closed campus-area Holiday Inn at 328 W. Lane Ave. at about 8:15 a.m.
Oracle Elevator employees were working on the building's three elevators.
Officials said the worker, who was later identified as 52-year-old James C. Higgins, was in the bottom of the elevator shaft, which is otherwise known as the pit. It's about 10 to 12 feet below the first level.
Higgins was working when the elevator was activated, came down, and crushed him, according to officials.
Higgins was dead when Columbus fire arrived on the scene.
There might have been some confusion about which elevator was shut off, Columbus Fire Battalion Chief David Whiting said. He said Higgins was working on another elevator with a co-worker, who was on another elevator, moments before the accident.
A wrong button might have been hit and sent the elevator down, pinning Higgins against the pit ladder, officials said.
“There’s a ladder you climb down there, and it looks like he might have been caught between the ladder and the elevator,” Whiting said.
“There's different stop buttons in there -- different ways to shut it down. One, you shut it down at the top. Another you can shut it down at the bottom. And, they're not sure whether he had turned the wrong elevator off or not because there's a bank of three elevators in there,” Whiting said.
The victim's name was released at about 2:30 p.m.
OSHA was called to the scene since it was an industrial accident. OSHA has had no history with Oracle Elevator, according to OSHA's Dave Wilson.
Columbus homicide detectives were investigating the incident as a matter of policy because it involved a death, not because they suspected foul play.
There are three elevators inside the hotel; the middle elevator was the one involved in the morning accident.
The Holiday Inn closed Monday, March 30. OSU purchased the building and planned to turn it into student housing.
Initial reports from the scene and on-scene witnesses indicated an elevator fell on top of the worker and that he worked for a moving company.
Oracle Elevators has not returned calls from NBC 4 currently.
For additional information on this developing story, stay with NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com -- Where Accuracy Matters.
To submit a story idea or news tip, e-mail stories@nbc4i.com.
MORE: NBC 4 Local News | Local Crime News
NBC 4 SPORTS: Sports News, Video
NBC 4 POLITICS: Headlines, Interactives & Video
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement