Carrie O’Connor Boston University lecturer i’d as Allston elevator accident victim. New building resident had been attempting to load box.
The Boston woman who was crushed to death at her new apartment building in an elevator accident has been identified as a lecturer at Boston University.
Carrie O’Connor, 38, died on Monday evening when the elevator in the Allston apartment complex at 1140 Commonwealth Ave, suddenly dropped between floors as she tried to load a package just after 5pm.
O’Connor was found dead at the scene. Boston police sergeant Detective John Boyle said her cause of death was traumatic asphyxia, and the manner was accidental.
Resident, Leanne Scorzoni said she had spoken to another tenant who had been helping O’Connor load her package on to the elevator just seconds before it dropped.
‘I heard it, he saw everything. He was helping her with a box into the building and he was going up the stairs, and he told her “hey, just be careful because it’s an old-fashioned elevator,’ she told via the Boston Globe.
Boston University has confirmed 38yo Carrie O’Connor died in a elevator accident in Allston. She was a French lecturer at the school & was entering her 4th year of teaching.
Investigators are still trying to figure out what caused the accident. #7news pic.twitter.com/HEW0Cr77pQ
— Amaka Ubaka (@AmakaUbakaTV) September 16, 2020
The elevator had a sensor
Adding, ‘I don’t know what type of elevator it is, but you have to pull the door across and then step in and then press the button.’
Scorzoni added that she was told the elevator had a sensor, and the man who was helping O’Connor believes that the package may have triggered the sensor, which caused it to start moving.
Scorzoni described a staircase next to the elevator, with the man helping O’Connor talking to her as he was going up.
‘He just said “oh, I don’t think that’s gonna fit in there’. And then she’s like, “oh, I’ll try it one more time”. And then I heard her screaming, and I heard him screaming,’ she told the Boston Globe.
Scorzoni added that the man was screaming and pointing when she emerged from her first floor apartment.
‘When I looked at the elevator, it was not there. Only the ceiling of the car was on my floor, so all the cables were there,’ she said.
Offered resident, Nevada Foskit via Boston’s 25News. ‘[The elevator has] always worked fine. I’ve been here over a year and never had any issues with it.’
Well liked by her colleagues
‘It’s a two-slide door system and unless that door is completely shut, it does not move ever.’ Adding, ‘If something did happen, it clearly had to be faulty.’
Of note, the Boston University lecturer had only recently moved into the building WCVB reports.
O’Connor was a Lecturer in French at Boston University. A spokesperson told via cbsboston the educator began working at BU in 2019 and was well liked by her colleagues.
According to O’Connor’s biography on the university’s website, she has taught ‘a wide range of courses throughout her career, including French language, French for Business, Conversational French, French literature in translation, and French culture through gastronomy’.
She previously taught at Bentley University, Louisiana State University, MIT, Northeastern University, and Tufts University.
Management of the building said the elevator was inspected within the past year.
#Boston Large tech rescue response for reports of an incident with an elevator at 1140 Comm Ave @boston25 pic.twitter.com/XLzJfz1CA8
— JJ Murphy (@JJMurphyBOS25) September 14, 2020
Investigations continue
According to WCVB, Boston’s Inspectional Service Department said the elevator is overseen by the state.
In a statement, a spokesperson from the state’s Division of Professional Licensure said officials from the Office of Public Safety and Inspections determined that the elevator was recently inspected and certified in accordance with state regulations.
‘The department extends its deepest sympathies to the loved ones of the victim during this difficult time,’ the statement reads.
Police and officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are still investigating.
The building itself dates back to 1920 but it’s unclear when the elevator was installed and or last had a wellness test.
