The Associated Press
Twenty-four people had crowded onto a dormitory elevator before it pinned and killed an Ohio State University freshman, exceeding its weight capacity by as much as 1,100 pounds, a fire official said Monday.
The count came from a medic who interviewed survivors immediately after the Friday night accident, said Doug Smith, a battalion chief for the Columbus Division of Fire.
He said the elevator had a capacity of 2,500 pounds. “If you take the average freshman college kid, you’d probably average their weight somewhere between 140 and 150 (pounds), so without a doubt it probably exceeded the weight,” Smith said.