BU Lecturer Carrie O'Connor Killed In Allston Elevator Accident
BOSTON (CBS) – Boston Police have identified the woman who was killed in an elevator accident in an Allston apartment building on Monday.
Officers found 38-year-old Carrie O'Connor in the elevator on the first floor of 1140 Commonwealth Ave. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said she died of traumatic asphyxia.
"It was horrifying. I would never want ever again, it wasn't a cry. I can't even describe what it was," said fellow tenant Leanne Scorzoni.
O'Connor's neighbors said she was trying to move a package either in or out of the elevator when the accident happened.
Scorzoni said another tenant saw O'Connor moments before. "He was helping her with a box into the building, and he was going up the stairs and he had told her, 'Hey just be careful,' because...you have to pull the door across and then step in and then press the button. However if you have something in there, it can trigger a sensor," explained Scorzoni. "He believes that whatever she was trying to get in there hit the sensor and then it started moving."
O'Connor was a Lecturer in French at Boston University. A spokesperson said she began working at BU in 2019 and was well-liked by her colleagues. Her parents told the college that she loved to travel and cook.
State inspectors were at the Commonwealth Ave. building on Tuesday. A property manager told WBZ the elevator was inspected this year and did not have any problems.
The incident remains under investigation.