1.超载的电梯
Elevator Accident Kills College Freshman
Dorm Elevator's Weight Capacity Was Exceeded Before Accident That Killed Ohio State Student
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct, 23, 2006
(AP) Twenty-four people had crowded onto a dormitory elevator before it pinned and killed an Ohio State University freshman, exceeding its weight capacity by as much as 1,100 pounds, a fire official said Monday.
The count came from a medic who interviewed survivors immediately after the Friday night accident, said Doug Smith, a battalion chief for the Columbus Division of Fire.
He said the elevator had a capacity of 2,500 pounds. "If you take the average freshman college kid, you'd probably average their weight somewhere between 140 and 150 (pounds), so without a doubt it probably exceeded the weight," Smith said.
Andrew Polakowski was the last person to enter the elevator on Stradley Hall's third floor when it unexpectedly began to descend with the doors open, campus police said.
Polakowski, 18, of Erie, Pa., was pinned when he tried to escape through a gap between the top of the elevator and the third floor, police said.
Polakowski had chest and abdominal injuries and died of mechanical asphyxia, Franklin County Coroner Bradley Lewis said.
Authorities have not concluded that the extra weight caused the elevator to malfunction. The case remains under investigation.
The state Department of Commerce released documents showing that the elevator had passed every safety test conducted by Otis Elevator Co. going back to 2003, including the most recent one, conducted July 24.
However, some students said they have had minor problems with elevators in the 11-floor Stradley Hall, which has more than 400 residents.
University President Karen Holbrook told school officials to arrange for an independent review of all dormitory elevators.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/23/national/main2116537.shtml
2.用手拦电梯门的意外
A Tragic Lesson
A young doctor named Hitoshi Nikaidoh graduated from the University of Texas-Houston Medical School in June 2003. He began work as a surgical intern in July. In August he stepped into a second-floor elevator in his hospital just as the doors were closing. We all expect that the doors will bounce back open if we dash in at the last moment. This time they didn't. They pinned his shoulders and trapped him in the doorway. But the elevator moved upward anyway, tearing off his head. He was 35 years old, with years of training behind him, and years of service ahead. The built-in failsafe mechanisms failed him when he needed them. This type of tragic accident is unusual. Federal statistics estimate that elevators kill about 27 people per year and seriously injure another 11,000 in the U.S., making them one of the safest forms of travel. I'm glad that the safety mechanisms in elevators usually work very well. Nevertheless, let's teach our kids to assume that elevator doors might keep closing. To try to open them, you might safely wave a hand in front of the photoelectric eye, or push on the door edge cushions, but only if there is plenty of time to remove your hand if the doors don't respond. The built-in mechanisms are an excellent safety net for when we misjudge the timing, but we should not routinely rely on them to work
