Man on mobility scooter falls 30 feet down Canada Line elevator shaft

Technical Safety BC and Metro Vancouver Transit Police are investigating how a middle-aged man on a mobility scooter managed to fall down an elevator shaft at a Canada Line station Monday Night.

According to Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services Assistant Chief Dan Stroup, it happened around 7:30 p.m. at the Yaletown-Roundhouse station.

“A person had driven their scooter through the elevator door and landed on top of the elevator car, 30 feet down,” said Stroup.

Firefighters called in a high-angle rope rescue team, but were able to free the man without their assistance.

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Amazingly, the victim escaped with just bumps and bruises, said transit police Sgt. Clint Hampton.

“It’s quite a bizarre story, and I can certainly say I’ve never heard of anything like this in my nine years of policing,” said Hampton.

“The silver lining here is that despite taking quite a fall, he walked away with only minor injuries.”

2:13 Man rescued from elevator shaft in downtown Toronto

But Hampton said officials are still concerned about how the man actually fell into the shaft.

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“What occurred was a man on a motorized scooter, he had hit the elevator doors at the station at a fairly high rate of speed,” he said.

“This caused the doors to open in some manner, and unfortunately he actually fell down the elevator shaft.”

Technical Safety BC deployed a safety officer to the scene, and has taken the elevator out of service until it concludes its investigation.