# Elevator Death - Such a Senseless Shame **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 16, 2010, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elevator-death-such-a-senseless-shame/546912 "2010-07-16T13:53:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elevator-death-such-a-senseless-shame/546912/1 "2010-07-16T13:53:36Z")
Elderly Couple found dead in home elevator. It was stuck between the 2nd and 3rd floor. They must of been extremely wealthy to have a 3 story house with elevator. Especially an elevator that fits two people. Usually home elevators are tiny and are meant for one person only. Such a sad senseless way to die. If only one person got stuck the other could have telephoned for help. The article says they had complained about mechanical problems. There was no reason for both riding at the same time. I wonder if a cell phone would work in an elevator? I don’t recall trying mine before. [http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jk22qYEZ5TfQEqjo8tOJG4kDSxVgD9H05BB00](http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jk22qYEZ5TfQEqjo8tOJG4kDSxVgD9H05BB00) ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elevator-death-such-a-senseless-shame/546912/2 "2010-07-16T14:06:56Z")
That is a sad way to go. Sherwood Wadsworth. How can you be anything but really loaded or desperately poor with a name like that. Seem like a nice couple. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elevator-death-such-a-senseless-shame/546912/3 "2010-07-16T14:09:58Z")
I am going to say there are worse ways to go. They died of heat exhaustion, not starvation, and both lived a very long time. They were most likely spared the pain of losing the other because they were probably both unconscious when they died. It _is_ sad, and they seemed like nice people. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elevator-death-such-a-senseless-shame/546912/4 "2010-07-16T14:13:08Z")
How can you install a home elevator and **not** install an emergency phone? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elevator-death-such-a-senseless-shame/546912/5 "2010-07-16T14:19:10Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I wonder if a cell phone would work in an elevator? I don’t recall trying mine before. Depends on the building’s construction and what’s on the floors around it. If a cell phone worked in the rest of the house I don’t see why it wouldn’t work in a home elevator. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elevator-death-such-a-senseless-shame/546912/6 "2010-07-16T14:24:05Z")
They probably didn’t have a cell phone with them. A cell phone isn’t the ubiquitous appendage for older folks that it is for most of the rest of us. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elevator-death-such-a-senseless-shame/546912/7 "2010-07-16T14:26:16Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > How can you install a home elevator and **not** install an emergency phone? The elevator was probably installed years and years ago, before telephones were put in elevators. It may be an older house that they bought and it came that way. Who knows. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elevator-death-such-a-senseless-shame/546912/8 "2010-07-16T17:39:27Z")
There’s another lesson here, besides emergency phones. If you notice something odd with your neighbors (like the watermelon and the newspapers), check it out. I don’t fault the neighbors, but they’re probably wondering “What if”. ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elevator-death-such-a-senseless-shame/546912/9 "2010-07-16T18:19:25Z")
That is really upsetting. ☹ One of my dad’s law partners was visiting the firm’s new building and fell through an empty elevator shaft to his death, such a horrible way to go on what should have been a day of celebration for him. It’s possible the couple weren’t super rich but rather were mobility impaired; an elevator is more common when the homeowners can’t use the stairs for medical reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elevator-death-such-a-senseless-shame/546912/10 "2010-07-16T18:29:29Z")
> [@PoorYorick](#): > > They probably didn’t have a cell phone with them. A cell phone isn’t the ubiquitous appendage for older folks that it is for most of the rest of us. Probably? I’d guarantee they didn’t. Do you think they curled up in the elevator waiting a slow death and didn’t think to try their cellphone?!? ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elevator-death-such-a-senseless-shame/546912/11 "2010-07-16T21:50:03Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > There’s another lesson here, besides emergency phones. If you notice something odd with your neighbors (like the watermelon and the newspapers), check it out. I don’t fault the neighbors, but they’re probably wondering “What if”. And if you have an elderly friend or relative, make sure you check on them every day. If the son was in the habit of calling his parents every day, maybe they would have been found and rescued in time (not that I am blaming the son - who would ever expect this to happen?) Obviously most older folks don’t have to worry about getting trapped in an elevator, but there are a lot of stories of elderly people breaking their hips and not being able to get off the floor to call for help. When someone is that old, younger folks should definitely try to keep an eye on them. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elevator-death-such-a-senseless-shame/546912/12 "2010-07-16T22:43:41Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > How can you install a home elevator and **not** install an emergency phone? According to an article I read, the elevator was installed before the building code required emergency phones in private elevators. And apparently, the son was accustomed to his parents not always answering the phone, since they had a fairly active social life (and also couldn’t always reach the telephone before the answering machine picked up.) Who knows? He possibly spent many hours arguing, asking, and begging his parents to keep a cell phone handy in case of emergency. I know that’s the case with both my grandmother and with my grandfather-in-law. (In Grandmother’s case, even a couple of falls can’t convince her that a cell phone is a good thing. Last month, she fell in the bathroom, and fell INTO the bathtub. Spent at least two hours unable to get up before someone dropped by. And once she fell outdoors, and suffered mild hypothermia along with her broken hip before being found. Still won’t carry a phone or use a medical alert device. Stubborn old hag! :smack: ) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elevator-death-such-a-senseless-shame/546912/13 "2010-07-17T02:06:40Z")
The OP reminds me of a grim short story by Roald Dahl – one of his tales for grown-ups, BTW, and probably from the compilation Switch Bitch – in which An emotionally abused wife gleefully departs for a two-week vacation, knowing that her crotchety, old husband was just trapped in their home elevator. That story was probably written in the 1960’s, BTW. Home elevators have been around for many decades. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elevator-death-such-a-senseless-shame/546912/14 "2010-07-17T02:18:19Z")
They do sound like nice people and this must be a sucky way to die. Still, it sounds like they had very full lives and they were about 90. I’m sure that’s a comfort. > [@AuntiePam](#): > > There’s another lesson here, besides emergency phones. If you notice something odd with your neighbors (like the watermelon and the newspapers), check it out. I don’t fault the neighbors, but they’re probably wondering “What if”. True, but in this case I doubt it would have mattered. By the time there were two newspapers piled up at the door they were probably gone. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elevator-death-such-a-senseless-shame/546912/15 "2010-07-17T04:16:13Z")
What a shame. Up here we have Life Alert for the elderly. It’s a bracelet with a button they can push for emergency assistance. My clients 93 year old friend fell on stairs and was yelling for an hour before they found her with a broken leg. Too bad this couple didn’t have it. My client doesn’t wear hers half the time because she says it makes her look old. I’m telling her this story. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elevator-death-such-a-senseless-shame/546912/16 "2010-07-17T04:21:35Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > Sherwood Wadsworth. How can you be anything but really loaded or desperately poor with a name like that. And their son, Wesley Wadsworth. ---
**Author:** ![sharding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90db22/32.png) [@sharding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sharding)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elevator-death-such-a-senseless-shame/546912/17 "2010-07-17T06:10:57Z")
> [@PoorYorick](#): > > They probably didn’t have a cell phone with them. A cell phone isn’t the ubiquitous appendage for older folks that it is for most of the rest of us. Do even you actually carry your cell phone around the house with you? I certainly don’t. It sits on the table 95% of the time. If something happened to in my house me that made me immobile, it’s highly unlikely I’d have my cell phone on me. ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elevator-death-such-a-senseless-shame/546912/18 "2010-07-17T08:07:51Z")
One day, the five of us headed out for lunch and took the elevator. On the way down, one of us started jumping up and down. The elevator stops. No big deal; at least we know the safety system works. We’ll just press a button and head on our way. We don’t. More presses on the button are made in vain. No go. Now what? Of course! We’ll use the emergency phone! Bet you we’ll be the first to use it. We open up the door, and find a phone that has no dial ring or touch pad. You’re suppose to pick up the receiver and it automatically dials a number. We get a busy signal. We hang up. We try again–still a busy signal. We now have the bragging rights to confirm that indeed this is the first time the phone has ever been used. In a bad way. (This was before before cell phones came into wide spread use.) The next ten minutes has all five of us arguing how to get out of this predicament. I learn an important lesson–it doesn’t take long for five technical people to start getting irrational. Like “Lord of the Flies” irrational. Finally, one guy just turns around and starts jamming the inner doors open. We’re stuck between floors. Another guy helps and opens the bottom outer doors. We jump out, hoping that the elevator doesn’t jaw us, while trying to maintain a “casual” attitude. It was as subtle as a Marx brother’s movie–people just stopped and stared at us as we spilled out. Later we found out that no one had ever bothered to hook up any of the elevator’s emergency phones in the building. It had an elevator inspection certificate (wouldn’t checking the emer. phone be part of the inspection?). Since then, whenever I worked in a building with an elevator: 1) Whenever someone starts jumping, I’ll snap at them in a very loud voice to stop, and 2) I check to see if the phone works. Had the circumstances been more dangerous (like a fire), the above story could have been just as bad for us, as it was for the couple. I didn’t see the panic coming at first when we first got stuck, but it was palpable by the time we got off. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elevator-death-such-a-senseless-shame/546912/19 "2010-07-17T11:05:45Z")
> [@user\_hostile](#): > > One day, the five of us headed out for lunch and took the elevator. On the way down, one of us started jumping up and down. The elevator stops. No big deal; at least we know the safety system works. We’ll just press a button and head on our way. We don’t. More presses on the button are made in vain. No go. > > Now what? Of course! We’ll use the emergency phone! Bet you we’ll be the first to use it. We open up the door, and find a phone that has no dial ring or touch pad. You’re suppose to pick up the receiver and it automatically dials a number. We get a busy signal. We hang up. We try again–still a busy signal. We now have the bragging rights to confirm that indeed this is the first time the phone has ever been used. In a bad way. (This was before before cell phones came into wide spread use.) > > The next ten minutes has all five of us arguing how to get out of this predicament. I learn an important lesson–it doesn’t take long for five technical people to start getting irrational. Like “Lord of the Flies” irrational. Finally, one guy just turns around and starts jamming the inner doors open. We’re stuck between floors. Another guy helps and opens the bottom outer doors. We jump out, hoping that the elevator doesn’t jaw us, while trying to maintain a “casual” attitude. It was as subtle as a Marx brother’s movie–people just stopped and stared at us as we spilled out. Later we found out that no one had ever bothered to hook up any of the elevator’s emergency phones in the building. It had an elevator inspection certificate (wouldn’t checking the emer. phone be part of the inspection?). > > Since then, whenever I worked in a building with an elevator: 1) Whenever someone starts jumping, I’ll snap at them in a very loud voice to stop, and 2) I check to see if the phone works. > > Had the circumstances been more dangerous (like a fire), the above story could have been just as bad for us, as it was for the couple. I didn’t see the panic coming at first when we first got stuck, but it was palpable by the time we got off. Good story. Our daughter has another family that has practically adopted her. The dad is an elevator repairman. I am getting a kick out of these replies… ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elevator-death-such-a-senseless-shame/546912/20 "2010-07-17T11:51:59Z")
> [@Electric\_Warrior](#): > > One of my dad’s law partners was visiting the firm’s new building and fell through an empty elevator shaft to his death His name wasn’t Rosalind Shays, was it? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elevator-death-such-a-senseless-shame/546912.md?page=2)