Elderly couple dies while trapped in home elevator

[Liberal_in_LA]

maybe I'm weird but the threat of being stuck in private elevators has crossed my mind.

Elderly couple dies while trapped in home elevator

(07-15) 07:07 PDT ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. (AP) --

Authorities in Georgia say an elderly couple died after being trapped inside an elevator that had gotten stuck between floors in their home.

Glynn County coroner Jimmy Durden says 90-year-old Sherwood Wadsworth and his 89-year-old wife, Caroline, had been dead for several days when their bodies were found Wednesday in their home in coastal St. Simons Island. He says it appears they died of natural causes, but autopsies were scheduled for Thursday at the state crime lab.

Glynn County police Capt. Marissa Tindale says the couple had no way to call for help when the elevator became stuck between the second and third floors.

Tindale says the couple was found after a newspaper carrier noticed several newspapers piled up outside the home and called 911.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/07/15/national/a070709D65.DTL&tsp=1#ixzz0tmTf8Ymz

[WI_DEM]

1. that is just very sad. Can you imagine the horror when one spouse died and the other

may have still been alive. My heart breaks.

[FSogol]

2. Sad. I'm amazed that there is no call device required in private elevators.

It seems like an obvious code requirement.

[atreides1]

14. It would seem obvious wouldn't it?

But it probably isn't a requirement for a home elevator.

[sinkingfeeling]

3. There's a lesson here: if you're ever rich enough to have a home elevator, make sure it

has an alarm and a phone to the outside installed.

[Liberal_in_LA]

4. and don't everyone ride it at once.

[emilyg]

19. Maybe they were disabled - not rich?

[MajorChode]

5. That's why you have a working phone or call device in commercial elevators

They are required and must be tested periodically.

[whathehell]

6. A terrible, terrible way to go...My sympathies to their families. n/t

[Kali]

7. Sherwood Wadsworth

is that a real name?

[The2ndWheel]

8. The coroner's name is Durden

So I'm not sure.

[Liberal_in_LA]

9. sounds rich

[Kali]

10. stereotypically and sit-comically so!

[lpbk2713]

11. If they had a daughter she would be named Buffy.

(My apologies for being shamefully disrespectful)

[drm604]

12. Tragic

This is heartbreaking. I can't imagine what it must have been like for them.

I wonder if they owned cellphones? I tell my elderly mother to always have her cell with her, even at home, but she won't listen.

[malaise]

13. Sad

but at least they were together.

[enough]

15. Sad to think two people that old didn't have somebody checking in on them at least

once a day, even if just by phone, to confirm they were okay.

[Ezlivin]

16. Yet Cheney lives

There's no justice in this world, that's obvious.

[Monique1]

17. Thank you

I will send the article to my sister - they have an elevator in their house. They are also seniors. I can't remember if they have a phone in it, I think they do. They are not rich, well off but not rich. They lost much of their money during the Bush years. It is a beautiful home on the bay in Maryland. It was a small cottage years ago but when retirement came along they sold their house took some savings and remodeled their one floor cottage to three floors. It actually resembles a lighthouse. I don't think having an alarm would help them because of the distance between homes. Now that is my dream house that I will never have but actually at my age I'll enjoy the dream.

I was there maybe 3 yrs ago - had coffee from the third floor watching the eagles in the morning.

By the way, they are Obama supporters. My sister thinks Obama is being unfairly treated by the media - he was given more than any other president to repair in one year. I love my sister. She is also very smart. He has a Doctorate in English and my sister has her MBA

[pipi_k]

18. I see where a couple of people mentioned call devices or similar things

in home elevators, which I think is a good thing to have...unfortunately, though, there are people who would probably forget, or be too afraid, to use them.

After my late MIL broke her hip the first time, the family got her one of those "Help!!! I've fallen and I can't get up!!!" things. One button. Worn around the neck.

She was always accidentally pressing the call button.

But then, when she fell and broke her hip a second time, she didn't remember (or was too afraid) to use the button. In fact, it was a good thing her daughter was outside the door (which her mom was running to answer when she fell). If the landlord hadn't been home to give my SIL the key, she wouldn't have been able to get in and call an ambulance.

Sad to think that even a safety button or phone might not have saved this couple if they had been too afraid to use either one, or had simply forgotten they existed. :(