http://www.newsmax.com/us/casino_elevator_mishap/2008/06/07/102597.html
Woman, Wheelchair Fall 30 Ft in NJ Elevator Shaft
Saturday, June 7, 2008
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- A woman in a motorized wheelchair slammed into
a hotel elevator, forcing the doors to open, and then fell about 30
feet down the shaft early Saturday, a city fire official said.
It took firefighters about 45 minutes to rescue the woman at the
Claridge Tower at Bally's Atlantic City. The woman, who was not
identified, was "extremely fortunate" to be alive, Battalion Chief
Michael Mooney said.
Mooney didn't immediately know the woman's condition, but he said she
was conscious when she was trans****ted to the hospital for treatment.
The woman was trying to catch an elevator from the casino hotel's
mezzanine level, Mooney said.
She didn't make it in time _ and the momentum pushed the wheelchair
through the now-closed doors on the second floor. The elevator car was
already on its way up when she fell. Her wheelchair fell on top of
her.
When firefighters arrived, they found the elevator doors off their
tracks.
Two Bally's workers who rushed over to help were injured while looking
down the elevator shaft. Mooney wasn't sure how.
Firefighters had to rig a rope and pulley system to get the injured
woman out, Mooney said.
A nursing supervisor at AtlantiCare's Atlantic City campus wasn't
immediately authorized to release the injured woman's condition.
Bally's spokeswoman Alyce Parker said the injured woman was staying at
the hotel. She said the company is aiding the investigation.
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