Boy Recovering After Falling Down Elevator Shaft In Mount Vernon
MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A 12-year-old boy was recovering Monday, after falling into an elevator shaft several floors up in a Mount Vernon building over the weekend.
At around 1 p.m. Sunday, the boy and a friend were playing in a hallway near the boy's grandmother's apartment, at 111 N. 3rd Ave., CBS 2's Lou Young reported.
It appeared the victim slammed up against the closed doors while roughhousing in the third-floor hallway, and the bottom of the elevator car popped out of the tracks. The bottom opened like a shower curtain, allowing the boy to fall into the shaft, police said.
There was a scream, a crash, and then a rush to get to the injured child. Rescuers said they were guided by the sound of his voice.
"He was actually stating, 'Help me!' and he was groaning in pain," Mount Vernon Councilwoman Deborah Reynolds said.
Reynolds accompanied a friend, who took photos of the rescue. A ladder arrived, and the boy's feet appeared on the roof of the elevator car, before paramedics went to work on the lobby floor.
All the while, the child was conscious. He suffered from broken bones and internal injuries, but miraculously survived.
On Monday night, the boy was recovering at Mount Vernon Hospital. Meanwhile, longtime residents worried about the safety of the side-by-side elevators in the 40-year-old building, one of which remained shut down while the investigation continued.
The Mount Vernon Buildings Department was inspecting the accident scene. As of Monday evening, no charges had been filed.
The building owners insisted there were no outstanding maintenance issues.
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