Three elevator riders were injured Friday when a cable snapped and fell into the car in a Loop office building at 32 W. Randolph St., police said.
The car descended to the first floor at its normal speed, said Officer Paul Havlicek of the Central Police District. When the car arrived, the passengers were “laying on the floor with the cable on top of them,” he said.
The elevator is supported by eight cables, said a Fire Department spokesman.
Two of the injured were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Margaret Wilson, 48, of 5847 N. Talman Ave., was treated and released. Derick King, 29, of 8314 S. Dante Ave., was in good condition.
The third injured person, Danielle Ferrell, 31, of 8910 S. Blackstone Ave., was treated at St. Cabrini Hospital and released.
Havlicek said the three passengers boarded the freight elevator on the 13th floor to go down to the first floor. The escape hatch in the roof of the elevator was open. Havlicek said construction workers working on the 14th floor opened the escape hatch to fit long boards into the elevator.
The passengers told police and the Fire Department they believed the cable snapped at the 9th floor.
“The cable started pouring in through the open hole and hit the people in the elevator” while the elevator was descending, Havlicek said.
