A woman in a motorized wheelchair slammed into a casino
hotel elevator and, after forcing its doors open, fell 30 feet down the
elevator shaft early Saturday in Atlantic
City, a fire official said.
Firefighters struggled for 45 minutes to save the woman, who
was not yet identified. Battalion Chief Michael Mooney said she was “extremely
fortunate” to be alive.
Mooney didn’t know the exact condition the woman was in, but
he said she was still conscious as she was taken out and transported to AtlantiCare Regional
Medical Center.
Mooney explained the woman was trying to catch an elevator from the
casino’s mezzanine level, but she didn’t make it in time. The momentum pushed the
wheelchair through the now closed doors of the second floor, while the elevator
car was already on its way up. The woman’s wheelchair fell on top of her.
On arrival at the Claridge
Tower at Bally's Atlantic City, the firefighters noticed the elevator’s
door were off their tracks. They had to rig a rope and pulley system to rescue
the injured woman.
Two Bally’s workers who tried to help got injured, out of yet unknown
causes.
Bally's spokeswoman Alyce Parker revealed the victim of the
accident was staying at the hotel, adding that the company was doing its best
to ease the investigation.
A nursing supervisor at AtlantiCare's Atlantic City was not authorized to reveal
the woman’s condition.
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