Elevator Technician Killed in Construction Accident
A man was killed Monday in a construction accident when an elevator fell on him at the former Holiday Inn on Lane Avenue in Columbus, Ohio.
Elevator technician James C. Higgins, 51, and another worker were at the bottom of an elevator shaft attempting to prepare the elevator so that workers could remove furniture from the hotel when the accident occurred around 8 a.m. Monday, according to Columbus Division of Fire Battalion Chief Dave Whiting.
The elevator they were working on fell down the shaft, killing Higgins. It is not known if the incident was due to mechanical or human error, said Whiting.
Higgins was an employee of Oracle Elevator for three years and was working on converting the former Holiday Inn into a dormitory.
The accident is being investigated by the Columbus Division of Police.
The elevator did not fall, it was turned on while James was on the ladder under it. He was the only person in the shaft. The other employee was IN the elevator. James was pinned between the ladder and the elevator. Had James been in the bottom of the service area, he would have been fine because the elevator does not go down that far. The fire dept, can only assume he must have been directly under the lift when it was activated catching him off-gaurd and instanly trapping him and crushing him on the ladder.