Woman Dies in World Trade Center Oculus Escalator Fall

A woman died Saturday after falling from an escalator at the World Trade Center Oculus in New York City.

About the Fatal Escalator Accident

Local media reports that a 29-year-old New Jersey woman fell 30 feet from the escalator as she tried to retrieve her twin sister’s hat.

According to Port Authority police spokesman Joe Pentangelo, the woman was transported to an area hospital where she was pronounced dead. Her identity was not immediately available.

The World Trade Center Oculus is a new multi-billion dollar transportation and shopping hub located in lower Manhattan.

The Oculus’s architecture is one of a kind with its white vaulted ceiling, which is the main attraction of the shopping area. The hub was built to replace a terminal that was destroyed by the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center when the Twin Towers collapsed.

Escalator Accident Statistics

• Data suggests that injuries occur about 15 times more frequently on escalators than elevators.
• In fact, about 26,000 children were treated for escalator related injuries between 1990 and 2002, and 40,000 older adults were injured on escalators between 1991 and 2005.
• While entrapment and caught clothing tends to get the most press, the truth is that falls account for about 75 percent of all escalator-related injuries.
• Escalator falls are normally divided into two categories – those that occur on the steps on the elevators and those that occur when an individual fall over the handrail.