DENVER (AP) — A tour guide killed at a former Colorado gold mine last year fell out of a crowded elevator taking tourists below ground after apparently not latching its door closed, documents obtained by The Associated Press show.
As the elevator descended, the door swung out and caught the side of the mine shaft, the guide fell out, was dragged and ended up landing on top of one of the tourists as the elevator continued its descent, investigators determined.
The harrowing account of the October accident that killed Patrick Weier, 46, at the Mollie Kathleen Mine in the mountains near Colorado Springs was included in an investigative report obtained by AP in response to a public records request.
The sheriff's office announced earlier this month that Weier's death was caused by "operator error" but did not explain how he died or what the error was. State mining regulators inspected the mine after the accident and did not find any problems with the equipment there.
Steve Schafrik, a University of Kentucky associate professor of mining engineering, said that at commercial mining operations, an elevator will not move if the safety systems are not in place and functioning. However, he said he did not have experience with operations in former mines that are now only used for tours.
Surveillance video showed that in the minutes prior to his death, Weier loaded the group of tourists onto the lower level of a double-decker, cage-like elevator for a 1,000-foot descent into the mine. But he had trouble squeezing in himself because it was so crowded, said the report by the Teller County Sheriff’s Office.
The tourists who were in the lower section with him told investigators that Weier had asked them to squeeze together more so he could fit inside, according to the report. A woman suggested that he ride in the upper level of the elevator since the people were smaller, but she said he didn’t respond.
Weier barely had enough room to reach his hand out to close the door, and he did not appear to have secured its latch, the report said.
Within a few seconds of starting the descent, passengers said the elevator started to hit the wall of the shaft. Weier cursed and said things like “I can’t stop this,” and debris was flying at the passengers in the dark. Some lost their hard hats and, without much light, they had to rely mostly on sounds to try to make out what was happening.
According to the report, about halfway down the shaft, the door opened, came off its track and bent as it scraped along the elevator shaft. Investigators believe Weier fell out after ringing the bell to tell the operator to stop the elevator. At first he was trapped between the shaft wall and the still-moving elevator and ultimately fell into the top elevator car.
When the elevator suddenly stopped, the group in the compartment above then said someone else was in their car — Weier. His body landed on top of a woman, who said it felt like she was being suffocated by it.
A woman in the lower car was pinned by the bent door until others could free her.
Two women in the top car decided to climb up a ladder seeking help. They said the ladder was breaking as they went, but both made it up safely.
The accident left a second group of tourists stuck for hours 1,000 feet (305 meters) below ground, as authorities worked to make sure the elevator could safely bring them back up.
No one answered the phone at the mine and its owner did not respond to telephone messages or an email. The mine's website says it is closed until further notice.
Weier had a 7-year-old son and was from the nearby town of Victor, Colorado. Some people who went on tours at the mine with him have donated to an online fundraiser for his son, saying his knowledge about the area's mining history left an impact on them.