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By LYNDA COHEN Staff Writer, 609-272-7257
Published: Sunday, June 08, 2008
ATLANTIC CITY - A woman in a wheelchair was seriously injured early Saturday morning when she fell about 30 feet down an elevator shaft at Bally's Atlantic City. Two casino workers who tried to rescue her also were hospitalized, officials said.
At about 3:30 a.m. the woman - whose name police did not release despite repeated requests - was trying to catch the elevator on the mezzanine level in the Claridge tower at Bally's. The doors closed, leaving her outside the elevator, but when her heavy motorized scooter made contact, the doors apparently opened even though the car had already ascended, Atlantic City Fire Department Battalion Chief Michael Mooney said. The woman fell about 30 feet to the bottom of the shaft with the chair on top of her.
It took the department's Special Operations Unit about 45 minutes to get the woman into an ambulance.
First, they had to rig lines to remove the wheelchair from on top of the woman, Mooney said. Then they had to breach the basement door near the elevator pit to get her out.
She was transported to the Regional Trauma Unit at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center and later was admitted to the hospital. Her condition was not available Saturday. She was conscious at the scene, Mooney said.
Two casino workers trying to rescue the woman had the elevator doors close on them, security guards told officials.
Mooney, who did not witness the attempt, said he saw two pairs of shoes - believed to belong to the would-be rescuers - stuck in the doors above where the woman landed. Officials at the scene said the men suffered ankle injuries. They were transported to the hospital as well.
One person also was stuck in the elevator as a result of the incident, Mooney said. That man asked to be taken to the hospital but did not appear to be injured.
The elevator was locked down awaiting clearance from a city code inspector.
Bally's spokeswoman Alyce Parker said the victim was a hotel guest.
"Two of our employees did attempt to help the hotel guest," she said. "At this point, we're just fully cooperating with the Atlantic City Police Department and the fire department in the investigation."
The Elevator Safety Unit of the state Division of Codes and Standards registers all elevator devices in New Jersey, according to the state Web site. There was no answer or voice mail Saturday at a number listed for the unit. There also was no answer at the press office for the Department of Community Affairs, which oversees the division.
To e-mail Lynda Cohen at The Press:
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