Elevators at Dorchester House apartments have been a repeated concern for some residents of the complex, located across the street from Meridian Hill Park.
WASHINGTON — A woman was in the hospital Saturday after elevator doors closed onto her arm inside a Northwest D.C. apartment complex.
DC Fire and EMS arrived at the Dorchester House apartments on 2480 16th St. NW, Friday night. Fire officials reported at 7:40 p.m. on Friday that the woman was taken to the hospital with “critical life-threatening injuries.”
Elevators at Dorchester House apartments have been a repeated concern for some residents of the complex, located across the street from Meridian Hill Park.
Rose Dallimore, who lives at Dorchester, told WUSA9 she has been concerned about the building’s elevator doors since she began using a wheelchair.
“I always have to have friends block the doors with their whole bodies to get in the elevators,” Dallimore said. “This is genuinely terrifying.”
Dallimore, who was out of town this weekend, also said the elevators have before malfunctions, noting that recently all of the buildings elevators were down at the same time.
“There have been lots of sketchy things with the elevators,” Dallimore said.
Another resident, Paola Beristain, called 911. She lived on the 4th floor and is neighbors with the victim.
“I got a text from one of my friends saying that there was somebody stuck in the elevator, so I came out to see if I could help in any way,” said Beristain. “Maintenance was there trying to get someone out and they couldn’t because the door was jammed.”
She says the woman was stuck in one of three elevators residents use every day.
“Once the door decides to close it just doesn’t stop,” said Beristain. “Even if you put your hand out or anything, there’s no sensor. I think that’s what happened last night.”
Beristain says she has complained to management about these elevators in the past, but she says they don’t typically respond to residents’ concerns.
“We’ve been talking with maintenance. We’ve alerted the manager of the building that there’s an issue with the elevators. That they are unsafe, all three of them,” she said. “Maintenance routinely tells us those doors are dangerous, be careful.”
Beristain isn’t the only resident who saw a similar emergency unfold.
“A friend was caught in the elevator, could not get out at all and it dropped. I wouldn’t say it was a floor, but it scared the dickens out of him,” said another resident who didn’t want to give her name.
She says that incident happened about a year ago.
“They literally pulled it apart with two guys on each side and a crowbar,” she said.
Beristain says she’d like to see some changes.
“It’s a great building to live in. We just want to make sure our safety concerns are being addressed and, unfortunately, they’re not,” she said.
WUSA9 has reached out to Borger Residential, the property management company that is in charge of the Dorchester, about their elevators and Friday’s night’s incident. A receptionist told WUSA9 to expect a response during business hours.
WUSA9 has also reached out to the DC Department of Buildings to ask whether the Northwest building was under active investigation and was waiting for a response on Saturday afternoon.