Shoddy repairs blamed for elevator death at Crockett Hotel

Gloria Rodriguez, 65, died in December 2011 at the Crockett Hotel when she fell six stories down an elevator shaft. Rodriguez was a housekeeper and had worked at the hotel since 1999. Gloria Rodriguez, 65, died in December 2011 at the Crockett Hotel when she fell six stories down an elevator shaft. Rodriguez was a housekeeper and had worked at the hotel since 1999. Photo: Courtesty Photo Photo: Courtesty Photo Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Shoddy repairs blamed for elevator death at Crockett Hotel 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

Late inspections and faulty maintenance of an elevator brake at the Crockett Hotel were the likely reasons why a housekeeper fell to her death in an elevator shaft last year, according to a scathing government report released late Wednesday.

The report by Lawrence Taylor, chief elevator inspector for the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, concluded that the death of Gloria Rodriguez, 65, in late December could have been avoided.

“This tragedy was preventable,” Taylor wrote, “and was a direct result of the failure to have the elevator inspected as required and inadequate maintenance.”

Taylor's report offers the first explanation of Rodriguez's mysterious death. She had been ending her shift, and no witnesses saw what happened when she fell six stories down the elevator shaft.

The findings will be reviewed by a lawyer for the licensing department, which could pursue fines against the hotel. The agency could also refer the case to the attorney general's office if it believes a crime occurred.

A phone message left after business hours with William Brendel, general manager of the Crockett, was not returned Wednesday evening. The state's report said the hotel employees cooperated with the inquiry.

Taylor concluded the accident was probably caused by an “improperly installed and maintained drive machine brake.”

After Rodriguez's death, Taylor and other inspectors found the elevator at the top of the shaft. They discovered problems with a brake on the elevator. In tests, Taylor saw the elevator stop at a landing, then move upward of its own accord with no signal to run.

“This was a matter of grave concern,” Taylor wrote. He found that someone had tried to fix the brake, and failed, by rigging it with electric jumpers, a method that violated state code.

“Someone with special knowledge of the elevator control system knew that there was a problem with the brake and intentionally installed a jumper and moved wires in an attempt to overcome the problem(s),” Taylor wrote. “However, no one actually did anything meaningful or effective to uncover the real problem(s) and embark on a course of action that would have solved the problem and prevented this tragic event.”

The hotel had contracted Otis Elevator Co. to provide regular maintenance for the elevator. The company also manufactured it.

Safety mechanisms are supposed to prevent outer doors to elevator shafts from opening if there's no elevator present. Even if that happens, outer doors have internal tension that is supposed to make them automatically close.

Taylor offered a “most likely scenario” of what happened: Rodriguez pushed the down button on the sixth floor of the hotel. When the car arrived, it slowed and powered the doors open. But it then continued upward “in an uncontrolled manner due to the brake not holding the car.”

Somehow, Rodriguez entered the unprotected opening and fell to her death before the outer doors closed on their own. Family members said they believe she was backing up to the elevator as she pulled her cleaning cart.

Taylor described how several elevators at the Crockett and Menger hotels were two weeks behind schedule on their state-required annual inspections. Both hotels are owned by the same company.

“If the conditions that led to this tragedy existed on the day the inspection was scheduled, and the inspection had taken place, the troubles with the brake could have been discovered, corrective action taken and this tragedy prevented,” Taylor wrote.

jtedesco@express-news.net