Escalator Malfunction Sends Students to Hospital

Ten students were injured following an escalator malfunction on Thursday afternoon, in a shocking start to the school year. According to students at the scene, the bottom step of the escalator going down from the fourth to second floors popped out at around 3:45 p.m., causing the escalator to accelerate and partially collapse on itself.

Students riding the escalator were thrown off balance and many fell into a pile toward the bottom. A number of them got their feet stuck in the bottom grill of the escalator and had to be treated by paramedics on the scene for cuts and bruises.

“I saw a kid screaming that his leg was stuck, and I saw his [pants were] stuck when I got off. Other kids [were] falling over and on top of him. Some kids who fell got up and were noticeably limping or got cuts and scratches,” said senior Ricky Zou, who was on the middle of the escalator at the time of the accident. “As I was walking away, I saw a kid who was on the floor with part of his foot cut open and blood everywhere.”

“As soon as I got off the escalator, I screamed for help and a bunch of school officials came running,” freshman Maya Dunayer said.

Physical Education teacher Vasken Choubaralian was one of the first to arrive. “My first reaction was [to] clear the area as quickly as I [could] to give those people space and to give adults [room] to come attend to people,” he said.

In total, 10 students were treated for minor injuries at the scene and then transferred to Bellevue Hospital and New York Downtown Hospital. None of the students stayed at the hospital overnight. One student, whose injury was deemed the most serious and had been reported as having a “severed toe” left the hospital at 9:30 p.m. on crutches with their foot largely intact. Principal Eric Contreras visited both hospitals after the incident and left at 10:00 p.m.

Some of the affected students came back to school the next day. They met personally with Contreras and the assistant principals at the bridge entrance, spoke with their guidance counselors, and were given elevator passes. All of the buildings escalators will be closed for the time being. A third elevator, the freight elevator on the east side of the building, was opened for student use to accommodate the anticipated increased traffic.

In addition, students who had their property destroyed or damaged, including a student with a shattered laptop screen, spoke to Contreras, who promised to have the computer replaced.

Two independent contractors, hired by the DOE and Department of Buildings, are currently inspecting all of the school’s escalators. Until they finish the inspection, however, it is unsure whether the accident was caused by a mechanical or electrical issue.

“In the long term, I’m going to advocate for major capital improvement for replacement. We have a long history of escalators that break down constantly […] We need to address the long term fix also,” Contreras said.

The New York City Department of Buildings mandates that elevators and escalators are required for testing twice every year. All of the school’s escalators were actually closed for several weeks at a time during the 2017-2018 school year, during which the Otis Elevator Company installed new safety devices every five feet. These were designed to halt the escalator if anything got jammed or stuck, but a step popping out was not an anticipated problem.

Now, the contractors will first inspect the broken 4-to-2 escalator and then all others. If the escalators on upper floors are deemed safe, they will be opened to students, or reopened but not turned on, so they can still be used between classes. For as long as the escalators are shut down, there will be double passing time with no penalty for lateness to class.

In addition to the extended passing time, the school is offering additional support to students. Pedrick and all of the guidance counselors came into school at 7:30 a.m. the day following the accident as opposed to their usual staggered schedule. Since the majority of the students involved were freshmen, the guidance department made sure to spread out their counseling resources and reach out to freshmen first. They visited all freshmen global classes and three sophomore global classes throughout the day.

“Imagine if it were your fifth day at Stuyvesant, which is overwhelming enough, and experiencing this?” Pedrick asked. “Some students may be physically injured, but they are also dealing with a mental aspect. We expressed that the counselors are here, doors are open, people are experiencing emotions and that’s normal, so if you want to speak to a counselor today, Monday, a week from now, a month from now...that’s normal.”

When asked about the school’s immediate response to the accident, Pedrick described a joint effort between students, staff, and parents. “I was so thankful that there were so many people [...] For them, [responding to these situations] was their strength. And the student body was just so awesome with not even questioning the evacuation, not questioning no after school activities, and just knowing something was up. You trusted us, and you continued on your way, being flexible with changes today. You guys just impress me every day.”

She is especially grateful to Parent Coordinator Dina Ingram. “She was great with fielding a lot of parent inquiries and questions. And yesterday, when parents would call and say, ‘My son isn’t home yet. Is he affected?’, she was able to say, ‘All outreach was made to parents and if you weren’t reached out to, then your child was not involved.’”

Contreras, who recently made the decision to turn down a job as the Senior Executive Director of Curriculum, Construction, and Professional Learning at the New York City Department of Education to remain as principal, expressed a similar gratitude.

“The first thought that I had yesterday was that I’m so glad I’m here. Every moment of crisis has only strengthened my belief that this is a pretty impressive group of students and staff that comes together and really supports each other,” he said.