Teen Killed While ‘Elevator Surfing'

April 30, 1994

LVT Number: 8735

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after her teenage son was killed in the building elevator. The trial court refused to dismiss the case without a trial, and landlord appealed. The appeals court ruled for landlord. The 14-year-old boy and several others were ''elevator surfing.'' The boy climbed out of the elevator cab through the escape hatch and rode on top of it while the cab went up and down. A neighbor warned the boys to stop. At one point, the boy bent over toward the front of the cab as it was going up---despite his friends' warnings.

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after her teenage son was killed in the building elevator. The trial court refused to dismiss the case without a trial, and landlord appealed. The appeals court ruled for landlord. The 14-year-old boy and several others were ''elevator surfing.'' The boy climbed out of the elevator cab through the escape hatch and rode on top of it while the cab went up and down. A neighbor warned the boys to stop. At one point, the boy bent over toward the front of the cab as it was going up---despite his friends' warnings. He was decapitated by a concrete stanchion in the elevator shaft. The cause of the boy's death was his own willful behavior, engaging in hazardous and illegal conduct.

Tillmon v. New York City Housing Authority: NYLJ, p. 22, col. 5 (4/7/94) (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Rosenberger, JP, Ellerin, Kupferman, Nardelli, Williams, JJ)

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