Girls trapped UNDER elevator at Classen SAS

[jbrown84]

There's a MAJOR, major piece of the who-what-where-when-why missing from this story...


Three students in good condition after being injured in Classen School of Advanced Studies elevator
Published: November 15, 2011


Three students who became trapped Tuesday beneath a school elevator likely spared themselves further injury by remaining calm and working as a team, an ambulance service spokeswoman said.

A sixth-grade girl and two seventh-grade girls were taken to the hospital about noon Tuesday after they were trapped beneath the elevator at Classen School of Advanced Studies in Oklahoma City.

The girls went to OU Medical Center in separate ambulances and were in good condition Tuesday afternoon, Emergency Medical Services Authority spokeswoman Lara O'Leary said.

What happened?

O'Leary said the girls were in the elevator shaft and saw the elevator car coming down.

They at first tried to stop the car, but when that failed they agreed they should lie on their stomachs, O'Leary said.

The elevator car stopped with 10 to 12 inches to spare, which trapped the girls but left them with no serious injuries, O' Leary said.

“The girls remained calm, but all three were shaken up,” O'Leary said.

The accident happened about 11:20 a.m. on the first floor of the building, school district spokeswoman Tierney Tinnin said. The girls were freed by noon with the help of the Oklahoma City Fire Department and an elevator company worker.

Tinnin said a school staff member heard the girls and alerted the principal.

Tinnin did not know if the students had been released from the hospital Tuesday evening. She said the school will investigate how the accident happened and talk to the girls after they return to school.

The elevator was last inspected in October and passed, Tinnin said. The elevator has been working, and there haven't been any major repairs recently, she said.

“We're going to look at it and figure out for this school and any other school that has an elevator what happened,” she said. “It could have been a tragedy.”

Deputy Fire Chief Marc Woodard said the girls were freed after the car in the cable-operated hydraulic elevator was raised by pressing an override switch. He said firefighters waited until the elevator company worker arrived from Midwest City “to make sure that was the right switch.”

Read more: http://newsok.com/three-students-in-...#ixzz2LxXCGUVo

[bandnerd]

I felt the same way when I read this story, especially about the why and how. Why were they under there, and how in the world did they get there?

[Redskin 70]

they pryed open the elevator door(yes you can do that) and then jumped into the elevator shaft.................and gasp of gasp's the door closed behind them. They were lucky but not terribly...............Now their parents know they are dumb butts

[Achilleslastand]

Their stupidy will be rewarded with a lawsuit..............watch.

[kevinpate]

Just goes to show that it's not always the guys who run into difficulty a minute or three after someone says "oh, go ahead, what could possibly go wrong?"

[RadicalModerate]

If this is an example of the hijinx that can occur at a School of Advanced Studies, I'm wondering what it's like at a School of Regular Ol' Studies . . .

I predict, in addition to a lawsuit over the function of an elevator, there will be a claim for emotional distress when the young ladies are demoted to the Sweathog class.

[jn1780]

If this is an example of the hijinx that can occur at a School of Advanced Studies, I'm wondering what it's like at a School of Regular Ol' Studies . . .

I predict, in addition to a lawsuit over the function of an elevator, there will be a claim for emotional distress when the young ladies are demoted to the Sweathog class.

Smart teenage girls are still teenage girls. lol

[MDot]

This is so stupid it's sad. However, out of a dumb decision came the intellegiance and "bravery" to stay calm during all this and work together to prevent an even worse scenario. It's weird when you can call someone dumb and smart at the same time. Hopefully they learned their lesson.

[RadicalModerate]

Sure glad that this event didn't involve escalators . . .
The outcome prob'ly wouldn'ta provided a second chance to show that the lesson was learnt.
Fer sher.

(Perhaps their senses were dulled by too much Justin Beiber? He could be a co-respondent in the inevitable lawsuit. Justin and anyone named Otis.)

[jn1780]

Not defending the girls because lets face it their still dumb, but from the picture from the link it doesn't look like your typical elevator door. It looks like a normal steel door that locks electro magneticaly or something of that sort.

[RadicalModerate]

You mean the door with the "Authorized Persons Only" sign on it?
The one that had to be "pried open" or possibly "lock picked"?

I'm thinkin' that the metal detector at The School of Advanced studies should have picked up the crowbar and that the teachers in question should have assigned less strenuous "How It Works" engineering field trips.

[Double Edge]

Not defending the girls because lets face it their still dumb, but from the picture from the link it doesn't look like your typical elevator door. It looks like a normal steel door that locks electro magneticaly or something of that sort.

I know the elevator and it isn't your typical one. The elevator itself is about 3 feet wide, five feet deep and does not have automatic closing doors inside or out. The door is supposed to lock out when the elevator is not at that level and did the last time I used it which was not that long ago, so either it was broken or they found a way to pry it open as was stated. Under normal circumstances you can't move the car without the doors closed too.

Either way, no way did the girls enter by accident, even if the door was not working like normal.

[jbrown84]

So how do they write this article and ignore the GIANT question of how on earth they ended up in an elevator shaft????

[Achilleslastand]

Sure glad that this event didn't involve escalators . . .
The outcome prob'ly wouldn'ta provided a second chance to show that the lesson was learnt.
Fer sher.

(Perhaps their senses were dulled by too much Justin Beiber? He could be a co-respondent in the inevitable lawsuit. Justin and anyone named Otis.)

Nice nod to Otis elevator company............

[Snowman]

So how do they write this article and ignore the GIANT question of how on earth they ended up in an elevator shaft????

It is harder to write about something they probably would not admit, if they were going to tell the truth that usually comes out fast, if they want a plausible excuse that can take time. Plus it is less likely to get the paper sued than if implied it was someone's infallible daughter did that put themselves in danger.

[bandnerd]

A teacher with whom I work attended Classen SAS, and when she explained the elevator to me, it made a whole lot more sense, and she was surprised it didn't happen sooner. However, maybe now the school officials will re-think how this elevator operates and who has access.

It most certainly is not a "typical" elevator.

As for the girls...well, teenagers can do stupid stuff. Maybe some posters here and on the newsok site are so far removed from their teenage years that they don't remember making really stupid decisions. However, the way the brain develops basically allows teenagers to take risks without understanding the consequences, even if they are posted in plain site or seem obvious to adults. That "It will never happen to me" mentality isn't a generational thing...it's a teenager thing, and every teenager out there has thought that at some point or another. Give the kids a break. They'll likely never do anything like that again.

[Just the facts]

This is so stupid it's sad. However, out of a dumb decision came the intellegiance and "bravery" to stay calm during all this and work together to prevent an even worse scenario. It's weird when you can call someone dumb and smart at the same time. Hopefully they learned their lesson.

Did you hear the 911 call - brave and calm is not how I would describe them.

[Achilleslastand]

Im shocked they havnt been labeled as heroes so far.

[MDot]

Did you hear the 911 call - brave and calm is not how I would describe them.

I posted that before they released any audio tapes. Thanks for letting me know though.

[Bunty]

they pryed open the elevator door(yes you can do that) and then jumped into the elevator shaft.................and gasp of gasp's the door closed behind them. They were lucky but not terribly...............Now their parents know they are dumb butts

I can't imagine why anyone wants to be at the bottom of an elevator shaft unless they heard there was dropped money or jewelry down there. If the bottom of the elevator shaft was filthy looking, I can't imagine jumping down there, unless I saw an object that looked mighty tempting.

[Double Edge]

The girls were on local news the other night. There were allegedly four. The elevator was on the upper floor. The door was claimed to be open or able to be opened. Three girls went in, the fourth stayed out and shut the door. When the door was shut, the car automatically came to the first floor. There was also some info about a possible open maintenance work order out on the elevator but they gave no specifics if it was related to the door or not.

But as you say, no person would go through a door and into an elevator pit under normal circumstances.

[Double Edge]

Interview video here: http://newsok.com/article/3624213

Why didn't they ask the obvious question why the girls went in a door to an elevator when the elevator wasn't there and there was a pit?

[kevinpate]

...

Why didn't they ask the obvious question why the girls went in a door to an elevator when the elevator wasn't there and there was a pit?

Long time since my teen years, but I get why they might have done it.

It Was There!

That's plenty enough reason to get a teen in all sorts of mischief, pain, etc.

[Double Edge]

Long time since my teen years, but I get why they might have done it.

It Was There!

That's plenty enough reason to get a teen in all sorts of mischief, pain, etc.

Of course. That's the elephant in the room. They should have put them on the spot anyway.

[kevinpate]

Thought on it a bit more. It's possible that was asked, and answered, but it hit the editing floor to make story fit allotted space.