Elevator accident claims life of Westport man

Posted 9/4/19

An elevator worker from Westport died Tuesday morning in what Needham, Mass., police say was an elevator related incident at the headquarters of the Trip Advisor company in Needham.

The victim …

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Elevator accident claims life of Westport man

Posted

An elevator worker from Westport died Tuesday morning in what Needham, Mass., police say was an elevator related incident at the headquarters of the Trip Advisor company in Needham.

The victim was identified as James Jacobs, 52 (no address provided), an employee of Otis Elevator Company.

Needham police and firefighters rushed to the scene at the travel website’s 400 1st Ave. offices at around 8:30 a.m., said Police Chief John Schlitter.

“Unfortunately, this morning there was an incident with a maintenance crew member employed by Otis Elevator Co. that is being addressed and investigated today by the Needham Police and Massachusetts State Police,” TripAdvisor said in a statement. “No TripAdvisor employees were harmed, and our thoughts are with the worker’s family and colleagues during this time.”

Otis Elevator said in a press statement that the company is “deeply saddened to learn that we lost a team member at a jobsite this morning.”

“Our most sincere and heartfelt condolences go out to the family of the deceased,” the statement says. “We are working to gather more information about this incident as quickly as possible. There is nothing more important to Otis than the safety of our employees, customers and the people who rely on our products and services every day.”

The incident remained under investigation later Tuesday afternoon by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Needham police, and Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office, Baker said in an email to reporters.

No TripAdvisor employees were involved or injured in the incident, Chief Schlitter said.

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