An Atlanta teenager died in a strange accident when an elevator malfunctioned and fixed him between two floors of an apartment building, reports say.
JauMarcus McFarland, 19, was stranded between the taxi crash and the third floor of the building on Tuesday afternoon, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Friends blame the strange accident on the condition of the elevator, but the property manager claims that 16 people have overcrowded the elevator and caused a deadly “domino” effect, according to reports.
Horrified witnesses called 911 as McFarland’s legs hung down the second floor, according to the report. The athlete lost consciousness and died after rescuers worked an hour to free him, the Journal-Constitution said.
Missouri-based McFarland had just started in August at the Champion Prep Academy in Atlanta, where teens can enroll in an educational and athletic program as a bridge before applying to schools.
“JauMarcus was a wonderful teammate who touched the lives of those around him,” a GoFundMe page said for the athlete. “We are lost and his family in Missouri is totally devastated.”
The teenager, a football player who dreamed of being a professional, had lived in the building with fellow athletes, they reported. The elevator was known to have operational problems and a state inspection was due in August 2020, WSBT reported.
“We knew something like this would happen one day,” his teammate Bryson Grove told the station. “We didn’t know it would end the life of a teammate on our team.”
But property manager Nathan Phillips said the lift had 16 people when the strange crash occurred which said it increased its weight capacity by 1,000 pounds above its 3,000-pound limit.
“Unfortunately, this seems to be what started the domino effect of the events that led to this young man’s unfortunate death,” Phillips said in a statement to WXIA. “This is a horrible tragedy and we are deeply saddened that this has happened.”
McFarland coach at the academy, Michael Carson, said all students are like “our kids.
“Appreciate the time, the seconds, the minutes, the hours you have to spend with these guys,” he told the Journal-Constitution. “And I hope they realize the importance of every moment they have to give life.”