After a cleaning lady was stuck in the elevator of a New York City town house for three days, an elevator engineer describes Inside Edition what it's like to be trapped.
After a woman was trapped for three days in a tiny elevator in a billionaire's Manhattan townhouse, an expert told Inside Edition what it would be like to find yourself stuck in an elevator.
Warren Stephens and his wife, Harriet, were out of town when the elevator of their $20 million town house on Manhattan’s Upper East Side got stuck between the second and third floors. A courier tried to deliver a package to the house Monday morning but contacted the family when there was no answer. Stephens' 28-year-old daughter came to the house and discovered the cleaning lady trapped in the elevator.
Elevator engineer Bill Seymour spoke to Inside Edition about what happens if you are trapped in an elevator. He said there's not much you can do once you're stuck inside.
"Elevators do have ventilation, so you are not going to suffocate. But, common sense prevails when you are stuck in a very tight space with no food, no water, no bathroom. It is going to be uncomfortable," he said.
It took 11 firefighters armed with axes to rescue Stephens' cleaner, and she was later treated in the hospital. A building inspector posted a code violation outside the property after he was unable to get into the house to inspect the elevator.
"The employee involved has been a valued member of the Stephens extended family for 18 years," a family statement said. “The cause of this unfortunate incident is being investigated and appropriate measures will be taken to ensure that something like this never happens again."
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