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Accidents
What Accidents Happened?
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California
May 2014
In May of 2014, Malia P. went to the La Mirada Community Gymnasium. She was present in the gymnasium with her mother and younger sister to watch the end of a girls’ volleyball game before she was to play a park and recreational league game. As Malia was watching the volleyball games, she leaned against a vinyl/plastic partition wall, used to separate a single full size basketball court into two volleyball courts within the gymnasium.
Suddenly, and without any warning (verbal or otherwise), the partition wall began to retract toward the ceiling. Malia’s left arm became trapped in the partition wall as it rolled up toward the ceiling. As the partition wall began to twist and fracture her arm, Malia began to scream, but the wall continued to roll upward toward the ceiling.
The force of the wall rolling up with Malia’s arm trapped within it caused Malia’s body to be physically lifted off of the ground by an estimated four to five feet. Malia and her mother screamed for help, as did other eyewitnesses, until someone was finally able to stop the wallfrom retracting up toward the ceiling, and reverse the mechanism, so that the wall unrolled toward the gymnasium floor, releasing Malia P. from its grip.
In May of 2014, Malia P. went to the La Mirada Community Gymnasium. She was present in the gymnasium with her mother and younger sister to watch the end of a girls’ volleyball game before she was to play a park and recreational league game. As Malia was watching the volleyball games, she leaned against a vinyl/plastic partition wall, used to separate a single full size basketball court into two volleyball courts within the gymnasium.
Suddenly, and without any warning (verbal or otherwise), the partition wall began to retract toward the ceiling. Malia’s left arm became trapped in the partition wall as it rolled up toward the ceiling. As the partition wall began to twist and fracture her arm, Malia began to scream, but the wall continued to roll upward toward the ceiling.
The force of the wall rolling up with Malia’s arm trapped within it caused Malia’s body to be physically lifted off of the ground by an estimated four to five feet. Malia and her mother screamed for help, as did other eyewitnesses, until someone was finally able to stop the wallfrom retracting up toward the ceiling, and reverse the mechanism, so that the wall unrolled toward the gymnasium floor, releasing Malia P. from its grip.
Canada
March 2014
CBC News · Posted: Mar 27, 2014 1:55 PM ET | Last Updated: March 27, 2014
A 13-year-old boy at Notre Dame High School in Ottawa has been taken to hospital with serious injuries after he became pinned by a closing motorized partition wall in the gymnasium.
Paramedics said they were called to the scene at 12:23 p.m. Thursday and found teachers attending to the Grade 7 student, who was unconscious. Paramedics said the boy had become trapped by a partition that separates two sections of
the gym.
Advanced life-saving procedures resuscitated the boy, who had regained a pulse and was breathing when paramedics took him to a pediatric trauma centre.
The teen suffered serious chest and abdominal injuries and was in critical condition when he arrived at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario. His parents were now with him at the hospital, according to the Ottawa Catholic School Board.
Students at the school were sent home after the incident. The school board said they
emailed families of grade 7 and 8 students and said guidance counsellors will be talking Thursday night with students who witnessed the incident. "The Ottawa Catholic School Board community will continue to support the student’s family
and the school population while we all pray for his speedy recovery," wrote school board spokeswoman Mardi de Kemp in an email.
CBC Police say they are treating incident in which 13-year-old became pinned by dividing walls as an accident.
The Ontario Ministry of Labour has taken over the investigation, according to Ottawa police.
CBC News · Posted: Mar 27, 2014 1:55 PM ET | Last Updated: March 27, 2014
A 13-year-old boy at Notre Dame High School in Ottawa has been taken to hospital with serious injuries after he became pinned by a closing motorized partition wall in the gymnasium.
Paramedics said they were called to the scene at 12:23 p.m. Thursday and found teachers attending to the Grade 7 student, who was unconscious. Paramedics said the boy had become trapped by a partition that separates two sections of
the gym.
Advanced life-saving procedures resuscitated the boy, who had regained a pulse and was breathing when paramedics took him to a pediatric trauma centre.
The teen suffered serious chest and abdominal injuries and was in critical condition when he arrived at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario. His parents were now with him at the hospital, according to the Ottawa Catholic School Board.
Students at the school were sent home after the incident. The school board said they
emailed families of grade 7 and 8 students and said guidance counsellors will be talking Thursday night with students who witnessed the incident. "The Ottawa Catholic School Board community will continue to support the student’s family
and the school population while we all pray for his speedy recovery," wrote school board spokeswoman Mardi de Kemp in an email.
CBC Police say they are treating incident in which 13-year-old became pinned by dividing walls as an accident.
The Ontario Ministry of Labour has taken over the investigation, according to Ottawa police.
Illinois
March 2017
CBS Chicago | March 27, 2017 at 4:56 pm
(CBS) — Frightening moments for a student at Jones College Prep High School Monday afternoon.
A student there was accidentally rolled up into a huge curtain that divides the gymnasium, and she was left dangling until firefighters arrived.
Witnesses say the sophomore may have been reaching for a ball that became trapped in the fabric when it started to retract into the ceiling. Firefighters were able to get her out. Students tell CBS 2 they don’t think the sophomore was hurt.
Chicago Public Schools says it’s investigating what happened.
“CPS is grateful that the student involved was not injured, and we are deeply appreciative of the school staff who responded quickly to bring the student to safety,” officials said.
LINK TO VIDEO: https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2017/03/27/it-was-nearly-curtains-for-chicago-student-caught-in-retractable-gym-divider/
CBS Chicago | March 27, 2017 at 4:56 pm
(CBS) — Frightening moments for a student at Jones College Prep High School Monday afternoon.
A student there was accidentally rolled up into a huge curtain that divides the gymnasium, and she was left dangling until firefighters arrived.
Witnesses say the sophomore may have been reaching for a ball that became trapped in the fabric when it started to retract into the ceiling. Firefighters were able to get her out. Students tell CBS 2 they don’t think the sophomore was hurt.
Chicago Public Schools says it’s investigating what happened.
“CPS is grateful that the student involved was not injured, and we are deeply appreciative of the school staff who responded quickly to bring the student to safety,” officials said.
LINK TO VIDEO: https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2017/03/27/it-was-nearly-curtains-for-chicago-student-caught-in-retractable-gym-divider/
Iowa
June 1984
Eric Akkerman
"I thought I was the only damn one it happened to. I had no idea there were
other people," said 47-year-old Eric Akkerman. "I can't even imagine that poor
little boy. I was so close to that [happening to me], the doctor said another
second or two ..."
Eric Akkerman was just 12 years old in 1984.
On the afternoon of January 23, he and his friends dashed from one side of the
gym to the other - believing they were faster than the motorized wall moving
to separate the activity area.
"All I remember is, obviously hate to say it, but projecting blood and my head
popping and all of a sudden, I'm laying on the gym floor, not knowing what the
hell happened,'' said Akkerman.
"They told me it took every towel in the place to clean up my blood. I lost a ton. Not to get graphic, but it was literally coming down everywhere. I mean, my nose, my ears, my mouth."
Akkerman would spend the next three weeks in the hospital.
"Now that I'm a parent;' said Akkerkman, "I think about how devastated my
mom was, how scared she was. She didn't know if I was going to live or die."
He endured numerous surgeries to reattach his ear, and to try to repair the
damage to the left side of his skull that claimed about half his hearing, injured
his eye, and left permanent paralysis in part of his face.
Eric Akkerman
"I thought I was the only damn one it happened to. I had no idea there were
other people," said 47-year-old Eric Akkerman. "I can't even imagine that poor
little boy. I was so close to that [happening to me], the doctor said another
second or two ..."
Eric Akkerman was just 12 years old in 1984.
On the afternoon of January 23, he and his friends dashed from one side of the
gym to the other - believing they were faster than the motorized wall moving
to separate the activity area.
"All I remember is, obviously hate to say it, but projecting blood and my head
popping and all of a sudden, I'm laying on the gym floor, not knowing what the
hell happened,'' said Akkerman.
"They told me it took every towel in the place to clean up my blood. I lost a ton. Not to get graphic, but it was literally coming down everywhere. I mean, my nose, my ears, my mouth."
Akkerman would spend the next three weeks in the hospital.
"Now that I'm a parent;' said Akkerkman, "I think about how devastated my
mom was, how scared she was. She didn't know if I was going to live or die."
He endured numerous surgeries to reattach his ear, and to try to repair the
damage to the left side of his skull that claimed about half his hearing, injured
his eye, and left permanent paralysis in part of his face.
Maryland
January 2021
Legislation - HB0083
https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/hb0083?ys=2021RS
Prohibiting public and nonpublic school employees from operating an electric retractable room partition in a school except under certain circumstances; requiring any annual safety review, evaluation, or exercise for school employees in a certain school building to include certain information and demonstrations; requiring the State Department of Education to develop and disseminate model safety guidelines on the safe operation of electric retractable room partitions and publish the model safety guidelines on its public website; etc.
Legislation - HB0083
https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/hb0083?ys=2021RS
Prohibiting public and nonpublic school employees from operating an electric retractable room partition in a school except under certain circumstances; requiring any annual safety review, evaluation, or exercise for school employees in a certain school building to include certain information and demonstrations; requiring the State Department of Education to develop and disseminate model safety guidelines on the safe operation of electric retractable room partitions and publish the model safety guidelines on its public website; etc.
New Jersey
March 1973, November 2007
March 1973
A 12 year old boy was killed by a closing electric folding partition at the Clayton
Middle School in Jackson Township, NJ. The accident happened during a gym
class when the partition was being closed to separate the boy’s gym from the
girls gym.
November 2007
November 2007
A Physical Education teacher of 25 years was critically injured when his head
became trapped between a motorized partition and a wall in Ho-Ho-Kus, New
Jersey. As the partition was making its final closure, the gym teacher leaned
across the path of the moving partition to insure there were no students near by.
He fractured his skull and lost his ear due to the accident.
March 1973
A 12 year old boy was killed by a closing electric folding partition at the Clayton
Middle School in Jackson Township, NJ. The accident happened during a gym
class when the partition was being closed to separate the boy’s gym from the
girls gym.
November 2007
November 2007
A Physical Education teacher of 25 years was critically injured when his head
became trapped between a motorized partition and a wall in Ho-Ho-Kus, New
Jersey. As the partition was making its final closure, the gym teacher leaned
across the path of the moving partition to insure there were no students near by.
He fractured his skull and lost his ear due to the accident.
New York
March 1991, January 2001, May 2012
March 1991
A 9 year old girl was crushed by an electric folding partition as the Sunquam
Elementary School in Melville, NY. She died 9 days after the incident as a result
of her injuries. The accident was cause by a safety key switch which had been
rigged with a jump rope handle to allow the partition to remain in motion with no
operator present.
January 2001
A 12 year old 7th grade boy at the boynton Middle School in Ithaca, NY was
crushed against the wall and killed when he ran into the path of an unattended
closing electric folding partition. The spring-loaded safety switch was defeated
when a physical education teacher intentionally allowed the weight of her key
ring to hold the switch down, causing the doors to close unattended.
May 2012
"Panicked friends of the 12-year-old Brooklyn boy entangled in a parking-lot roll-up gate desperately rushed to stop an incoming car from triggering the mechanism that raised it higher and finally carried him to his death.
Dramatic surveillance video reviewed by The Post shows tragic Yakim McDaniels dangling 20 feet in the air on the gate, which is not moving as the car approaches.
The vehicle stops before entering the lot, but for some reason, the gate begins rising again, going up another six inches.
Yakim and three friends had arrived at the Plaza Residence, co-owned by former Mets slugger Mo Vaughn, at 4:22 p.m. Sunday for a game of “chicken” on the gate."
March 1991
A 9 year old girl was crushed by an electric folding partition as the Sunquam
Elementary School in Melville, NY. She died 9 days after the incident as a result
of her injuries. The accident was cause by a safety key switch which had been
rigged with a jump rope handle to allow the partition to remain in motion with no
operator present.
January 2001
A 12 year old 7th grade boy at the boynton Middle School in Ithaca, NY was
crushed against the wall and killed when he ran into the path of an unattended
closing electric folding partition. The spring-loaded safety switch was defeated
when a physical education teacher intentionally allowed the weight of her key
ring to hold the switch down, causing the doors to close unattended.
May 2012
"Panicked friends of the 12-year-old Brooklyn boy entangled in a parking-lot roll-up gate desperately rushed to stop an incoming car from triggering the mechanism that raised it higher and finally carried him to his death.
Dramatic surveillance video reviewed by The Post shows tragic Yakim McDaniels dangling 20 feet in the air on the gate, which is not moving as the car approaches.
The vehicle stops before entering the lot, but for some reason, the gate begins rising again, going up another six inches.
Yakim and three friends had arrived at the Plaza Residence, co-owned by former Mets slugger Mo Vaughn, at 4:22 p.m. Sunday for a game of “chicken” on the gate."
Ohio
February 2014
A child's hand and arm were drawn into a machine that operates a roll-up gym divider curtain.
At the time of the accident the child and his parents were attending a basketball game at the city’s recreation center. The child “was standing by a large cylindrical bar that was part of the machine that operated the roll-up gym divider curtain. The curtain is used to separate the gymnasium into two basketball courts, allowing multiple games to be played at one time. One of the city’s employees activated the machine to roll up the curtain after the game.”
A child's hand and arm were drawn into a machine that operates a roll-up gym divider curtain.
At the time of the accident the child and his parents were attending a basketball game at the city’s recreation center. The child “was standing by a large cylindrical bar that was part of the machine that operated the roll-up gym divider curtain. The curtain is used to separate the gymnasium into two basketball courts, allowing multiple games to be played at one time. One of the city’s employees activated the machine to roll up the curtain after the game.”
Pennsylvania
October 1984
A Forks Township woman was struck in the head by a roll-up divider while crossing her school gymnasium.
A Forks Township woman was struck in the head by a roll-up divider while crossing her school gymnasium.
Virginia
May 2018
A 9-year-old boy died Friday after he was caught between a motorized room partition and wall at a Northern Virginia elementary school.
Fairfax County police said the boy, identified as Wesley Lipicky, died Friday night following the accident at Franconia Elementary School in the Alexandria portion of Fairfax County.
According to police, Wesley and a teacher both simultaneously pressed a button to open a large, motorized room partition that splits in the middle of the school’s gym around 4:45 p.m., leading to the accident.
Wesley, who was at the school with the School Age Child Care (SACC) program, suffered “traumatic head injuries” and was pronounced dead at a hospital later that evening, police said.
A 9-year-old boy died Friday after he was caught between a motorized room partition and wall at a Northern Virginia elementary school.
Fairfax County police said the boy, identified as Wesley Lipicky, died Friday night following the accident at Franconia Elementary School in the Alexandria portion of Fairfax County.
According to police, Wesley and a teacher both simultaneously pressed a button to open a large, motorized room partition that splits in the middle of the school’s gym around 4:45 p.m., leading to the accident.
Wesley, who was at the school with the School Age Child Care (SACC) program, suffered “traumatic head injuries” and was pronounced dead at a hospital later that evening, police said.
West Virginia
March 2005
A student at Jefferson High School was injured Friday morning when his left arm became entangled in a roll- up gymnasium divider, leaving him hanging several feet off the floor, according to emergency and school officials.
The boy, whom school officials would not identify, was freed after officials from three volunteer fire departments arrived.
A student at Jefferson High School was injured Friday morning when his left arm became entangled in a roll- up gymnasium divider, leaving him hanging several feet off the floor, according to emergency and school officials.
The boy, whom school officials would not identify, was freed after officials from three volunteer fire departments arrived.
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