Baltimore County Circuit Court elevator falls in Towson courthouse

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Jul 31, 2008 by Danny Jacobs

A Baltimore County Circuit Court elevator awaiting renovation suddenly dropped less than two feet after the door malfunctioned Wednesday morning, sending one man to a local hospital, county officials said.

The public elevators, which date from the building's opening in 1973, are all being renovated in groups of two as part of a $2.5 million project, said David Fidler, a spokesman for the Department of Public Works. One group on the building's south side has been modernized already, and another is currently being worked on, said Peter J. Lally, the court's administrator.

A group of four people was inside elevator No. 10 in the building's north side as it opened on the first floor just before 11 a.m. Wednesday, said Fidler. When the door closed, the elevator dropped between 18 and 20 inches before triggering the elevator's safety function, he said.

"The brake kicked in and stopped it," Fidler said.

Sheriff's deputies pried open the doors and removed three of the people inside, Sheriff R. Jay Fisher said. Firefighters then arrived to remove the man, who Fidler said asked to go to the hospital.

The man, whose name was not released, was taken to Sinai Hospital where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries, said Elise Armacost, a spokesman for the county fire department. The two teenagers refused treatment on site and left the Towson courthouse on their own power, she said.

The man was part of a wedding party leaving the second floor of the courthouse on Bosley Avenue, Lally said. A spokeswoman from Sinai Hospital said she could not reveal the man's status.

"It's unfortunate that it happened," Lally said.

The elevator remained inoperable late Wednesday afternoon, with a yellow barrier surrounding it on the first floor of the courthouse. It and the seven other public elevators in the courthouse have passed inspections within the last 12 months and there are no records of any other drops occurring, Fidler said.

Neither Fidler nor Lally knew when elevator No. 10 would be renovated, but Lally guessed it would be one of the next in line because the adjacent elevator, No. 9, is used to transport prisoners and would get priority. Elevators Nos. 1 and 2 are private, located on the sides of the building.

Courthouse employees and visitors often grumble about the slowness of the building's elevators. Lally said there have been multiple instances of people trapped in the elevators through the years.

Three courthouse employees eating lunch in the courthouse plaza Wednesday said the elevators have always been problematic.

The women, who declined to give their names, all said they would start taking the stairs now.