VIDEO: 2-year-old boy killed in elevator accident at Little Rock home, authorities say

A Pulaski County coroner's van is parked outside a home where a 2-year-old boy died in an elevator accident Wednesday.
A Pulaski County coroner's van is parked outside a home where a 2-year-old boy died in an elevator accident Wednesday.

A 2-year-old boy has died in what authorities believe was a “tragic accident” involving an elevator at a Little Rock home in the city's Heights neighborhood.

Capt. Jason Weaver with the Little Rock Fire Department said his agency was called around noon Wednesday to a residence in the 2900 block of North Taylor Street.

Weaver said firefighters did not get a response from the child and had to cut a hole in the ceiling and break through sheet rock in the adjacent walls in order to lift the elevator off the boy, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officials were able to get to the child within 30 minutes of arriving at the residence, Weaver said. When they did reach him, there were “no rescue procedures that were going to be productive,” he said.

Weaver said it's unclear how the child got into the elevator shaft, which is two stories tall. Once the boy was pronounced dead, the investigation was turned over to the Little Rock Police Department, he said.

Weaver said that at this time police do not believe the death to be anything other than a “tragic accident.” Authorities are currently looking into if the elevator malfunctioned in some way, he said.

“Anything mechanical can fail,” Weaver said.

It was not immediately clear how many people were inside the residence at the time of the accident, though Weaver said there were family members present.

Weaver said officials with his department who responded to the scene will have access to an employee assistance program and be given time off to process the death.

Read Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

Map

2900 block of North Taylor Street

2900 block of North Taylor Street

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