The elevator company accused of negligence in the horrifying death of a Madison Avenue ad executive has fired five workers. Only one of the employees was identified: Michael Hill, an elevator mechanic who allegedly forgot to remove a “jump wire” that allowed the lift to move with its doors open. (Hill insists he did remove the jump wire.) Minutes after workers left the elevator to take a break, Suzanne Hart was crushed to death as the elevator shot up with the doors open.
According to the Department of Investigation report, Hill had worked for Transel for 12 years and has almost 28 years of experience. He told investigators the jumper wire was in his hand when he left the building, but his coworker Robert Schroeder says that after the initial accident investigation that day, Hill told him he had used the jumper wire to move the cars, "but never said whether he had removed the wire prior to the elevator accident."
A Transel spokesman tells the Daily News the company dismissed the five employees on site during the accident as part of an ongoing effort to "enhance" its operations after the accident. The Buildings Department has hit Transel with 23 violations for a minimum penalty of $117,000; its license has been suspended and the city is working to have its license permanently revoked.
You can read the full report on the investigation here; Transel is one of the biggest elevator maintenance companies in New York and what investigators found is pretty harrowing. During a three-week sweep after the accident, inspectors performed inspections of 658 elevators at 169 buildings throughout the city. Of the 658 elevators, 370 were serviced by Transel Elevator.
