Seven-Year-Old Boy Tragically Dies in a North Carolina Home Elevator Entrapment Accident

COROLLA, NORTH CAROLINA - A news report published on nbcnews.com states that a boy from Ohio was tragically killed in an elevator entrapment accident.*  According to the news report, the boy became trapped between the elevator shaft and the elevator car.  The elevator was inside of a vacation rental home located in the North Carolina Outer Banks area.

According to a statement made by Currituck Fire-EMS Chief Ralph Melton, emergency crews were dispatched to a vacation rental residence in Corolla.   When the rescue crews arrived at the accident scene, they found the victim without a pulse and entrapped by the elevator.  Chief Melton reported that the rescuers were able to free the child from the elevator quickly but were unsuccessful in their attempts to resuscitate the small boy.  Chief Melton would only state that the young boy was on vacation with his family from Canton, Ohio.

In North Carolina, the state's Department of Labor is accountable for elevator inspections.  However, the Department of Labor only inspects commercial and public buildings.  According to the news report and the Department of Labor's spokeswoman Jennifer Haigwood, the Department of Labor in North Carolina does not have the legal, statutory authority to perform inspections on private residence elevators.

Haigwood stated in the new report that if an elevator accident happens in or around a private residence, there is no statutory requirement to report the incident to the North Carolina Department of Labor.  

The tragic beach rental home incident occurred three days after federal regulators have ordered a different major elevator builder to fix a comparable deadly flaw.  According to Corolla Fire Chief Rich Shortway, the alleged design flaw can entrap small children between the upper door frame and the bottom of the elevator car.

The tragic incident "crushed the "boy's neck after he appeared to have gotten caught between the moving elevator's inner accordion door and an outer door."  

Our firm is warning parents to check rentals and hotels for elevators before booking.  It is also advisable to ensure that all elevators have either "entry gates that lock" or have been outfitted with safeguards to prevent children from accessing the elevator in private residences, hotels, and rentals. 

Accident News is a safety and education initiative from Montlick & Associates, designed to help people better understand and thereby avoid common accident causes. To learn more about our injury prevention programs, please visit iridesafe.com. We hope you are never in an accident, but if you or a family member are injured, call Montlick & Associates 24/7 for your free consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333) or use our live chat at Montlick.com.

Sources:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/boy-7-dies-north-carolina-home-elevator-accident-n1274073

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/07/14/elevator-death-outer-banks/