Elevator drop in S.L. building injures construction worker

One man was injured after an elevator in a downtown Salt Lake building under renovation dropped approximately nine stories this afternoon.

Two construction workers were in an elevator in the Boston Building, 375 S. Main, about 12:15 p.m., taking supplies to the top floor. One of the men, who did not want to be identified, told the Deseret News that some large metal rods were sticking out the escape hatch at the top of the elevator.

When the elevator neared the ninth floor, he believes the rods hit the roof, knocking the elevator off track, he said. The rod snapped back without warning, striking the second man in the jaw and briefly knocking him out, the first worker said. He believes the blow may have broken the man's jaw.

The elevator dropped for what felt like a couple of floors in a free fall before safety devices slowed the descent, the man said. It then took a second long drop before safety latches again broke the fall and the elevator came to a rest on the second floor.

"It scared me," he said strongly. "I don't think I'll take the elevator the rest of the day."

Drops of blood from where the second man was hit could be seen on the elevator floor. The man was taken to a local hospital where his condition was unknown this afternoon.

The area in the Boston Building where the accident occurred was not open to the public.

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