James Greiner, a 41-year old Milwaukee man, died Monday when he tried to escape a stuck elevator in a residential building. Greiner and his friend were at the building visiting a friend, who was not home, and decided to go to the roof to enjoy the view of fireworks.
When they went to ride the elevator back down, but the elevator became stuck. Grenier attempted to pry open the cab doors and discovered that the cab was stuck between the 12th and 13th floor. He then opened the 12th floor hoistway doors and attempted to jump out of the cab to the floor below, when he apparently lost his balance and fell backwards into the open hoistway below, falling approximately 118 feet. His friend called 911 and reported that he believed his friend fell down the shaft. First responders pronounced Grenier dead at the scene.
Residents at the building reported that the elevators were occasionally problematic, but inspection records show that the elevator had been inspected just two weeks prior. An autopsy is being performed to determine if there were other contributing factors.
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