Crushed in a Lift.

Woodville Examiner, Volume XIV, Issue 2490, 9 March 1896, Page 4

Crushed in a Lift.

On the night of the 22nd February Dr M'Donagh, of Sydney, met with a painful accident, being crushed in a lift at the Eoyal Hotel, where ho had been called to see a patient on tho top iloor. Mr Jerome, a friend, entered tho lift with him, and there was in it also alady who was known to J)r M'Donagh. When the lift reached the top iloor Dr M'Donagh got out, but before his iriend had time to follow him the 1 uly asked Dr M'Donagh to step back into tho lift as she wanted to speak to him on a matter. Dr M'Donagh proceeded to reenter the lift, and to do so it was necessary for him to bend his head. He bent slightly forward, but before he had time to step into the lift it suddenly began to descend without any warning being given, and tho back of his neck was caught by the top of the door. He realised in an instant the terrible position in which ho was placed, and putting forth all his strength endeavoured to resist the almost resistless hvdraulic force that drives the lift. With his feet on the top Iloor and his neck under the rapidly descending lift, Dr M'Donagh was quickly doubled in two. If ho tried to go back ho would probably bo cut in two, and ho therefore endeavoured to get into tho lift. Mr Jerome also eudeovonred to pull his friend into the lift. He succeeded in so far as Dr M'Donagh, after being severely bent and strained, got into the lift with the exception of his left leg, which was caught and severely jammed between tdo top of the lift and tho top iloor. The doctor's leg was terribly crushed and fractured, and it would have been taken off had not his resistance to the downward motion of tho lift caused the line to get off the pulley, and the lift was thus brought to a standstill. It was some time before the lift could be got to work again, and until this was done Dr M'Donagh was lying in the bottom of lift in his injured condition.