Tuesday, 3 January 2012

Building reopening after Midtown elevator death

  Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK (WABC) -- The Midtown office building where an elevator crushed a woman to death is reopening Tuesday with partial elevator service.

But at least one witness to last month's accident says she'll never step foot in an elevator again.

Tuesday marks the first time many nervous workers will return to 285 Madison Avenue since the accident that left 41-year-old Suzanne Hart dead.

But only half of the building's occupants are returning to work. The elevators that served floors 12 to 25 have passed inspection and are resuming operation, but floors 3 through 10 are still shut down. That's the elevator bank where Hart was killed.

Investigators say her leg was caught in the door when the elevator rose suddenly, dragging her between floors. Now, one of the people inside the elevator car at the time of the accident has filed a lawsuit.

According to the Daily News, 36-year-old Kathleen Mullahy says she is so traumtized by the incident, she can no ride in elevators. Mullahy and another worker were trapped in the stuck elevator after Hart's death.

She is suing both Y&R, the advertising agency where she and Hart worked, and the elevator repair company that worked on the elevator just hours before the deadly accident.

Offices on the lower floors will remain closed until the Department of Buildings has completed its investigation.

Y&R is planning to move to a new location in 2013.

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new york city, manhattan, elevator accident, new york news

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