7-year-old boy dies in North Carolina home elevator accident

COROLLA, N.C. (AP) — A boy from Ohio died after he became trapped between an elevator car and the elevator shaft inside a vacation rental home on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, emergency workers said.

Currituck Fire-EMS Chief Ralph Melton said emergency workers were sent to a home in Corolla Sunday evening and arrived to find a 7-year-old boy without a pulse and trapped by the elevator, news outlets reported. Melton said rescuers were able to quickly free the child but were unable to resuscitate him.

Melton would only say the boy was from Canton, Ohio, but he provided no additional details on Monday.

While the N.C. Department of Labor is responsible for inspections of elevators in commercial and public buildings, the department does not have the statutory authority to inspect private residence elevators, according to department spokeswoman Jennifer Haigwood.

“If an accident happened in or around a private residence elevator, there is no requirement to report that accident to us,” Haigwood said.