By snoadmin
President F. King Alexander, in an email to the campus community Friday, said that all campus elevators would be inspected, two days after a Foundation building elevator malfunctioned killing a Cal State Long Beach employee.
Calling the death of Annette Lujan, a “tragic accident,” the CSULB president said California’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration was leading a “complex” investigation in to the accident.
“As this investigation continues, please know that CSULB will fully cooperate with finding answers,” he said.
On Thursday morning, most employees of the building returned to work.
According to Toni Beron, all employees in the Foundation building were called by their supervisors Wednesday night and were given the option to either return to work for a full day, a half-day or to stay at home the next day.
“It appears there’s comfort in being with your co-workers and being able to talk with your co-workers,” Beron said.
Brian Nowlin, chief operating officer of the CSULB Foundation, said he has heard a lot of employees say, “I just need to work.”
“I can only think of a handful of people who didn’t come in today,” Nowlin said.
According to Beron, Occupational Safety and Health was on site on Thursday investigating the accident, but there is no word yet on any findings. Beron said the elevator where the accident occurred was last inspected on April 5 and passed with no problems.
There are two elevators in the Foundation building. One elevator had been shut down for a couple of weeks, including the day of the accident. The second elevator, where the accident occurred, was shut down on Thursday, making the stairs the only way to access the upper floors of the building, Beron said.
On Thursday, employees in the Foundation building remembered the incident from the day before.
Those who work in the Foundation building said it was difficult to come to work.
Dan Durke, financial analyst for the College of Continuing and Professional Education said he heard really loud screaming. He also said there were a lot of rumors going around and that he didn’t know what it was, so the police were called.
“It’s tough. It’s very difficult,” Durke said.
Durke said he didn’t want to be at work but, at the same time, he knew that he had to get it over with. He said that the plastic tarps, which cover the areas around the elevators on the second and third floors, give him the chills.
Bo Pisarchuk, building engineer for the Foundation building, was the first responder who tried to save Lujan. He said that she is a long time friend and that going back to work a day after the accident was “unreal.”
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