College students at Youngstown State University's Kilcawley House fell five stories when the elevator cable snapped and the car dropped into a free-fall into the basement, reports say.
Apparently, the elevator was on its way up from the fourth floor when it stopped suddenly and proceeded halfway up to the fifth floor. The lights in the elevator flickered, smoke came through the vents -- and then the cable apparently snapped and the elevator fell.
Worse, after hearing the snap of the cable and the crash of the elevator, reports say a student tried for almost an hour to get an emergency response to the injured in the basement. Nobody apparently believed the elevator had actually fallen, reports say.
University officials claim they didn't know there had been a delay in calling the police. But victims reportedly said they felt they had been in the fallen elevator for hours - although it was probably only for 30 minutes or less.
The accident occurred when two braking systems designed to arrest a dropping car failed. All ten students were transported to St. Elizabeth Health Center for treatment and released later that night. One girl was still on the floor of the elevator car, unable to get up and others had sprained ankles and other injuries, reports say.
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