Coroner IDs 71-year-old worker who fell to death in elevator shaft at Erie warehouse

Jim Martin and Ed Palattella, Erie Times-News
Updated ·1 min read
11

This story has been updated with the name of the victim.

A 71-year-old Millcreek Township man was killed Tuesday afternoon when he fell to his death into an elevator shaft in a warehouse at the corner of West 12th and Cascade streets in Erie.

Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook identified the man as Igor Akopyan, and said he had been a longtime employee at the business where the accident occurred, Andy's Equipment Exchange, which sells new and used restaurant equipment. The warehouse is at 959 W. 12th St.

Deputy Coroner John Maloney, who declared Akopyan dead at 5:04 p.m. on Tuesday, said he had been waiting to board the elevator on the building's second floor.

"He opened the door to the elevator, assuming it was there, and it wasn't," Maloney said at the scene on Tuesday.

"It was clearly an accident," Cook said in releasing Akopyan's name on Wednesday.

Both Erie police and firefighters responded Tuesday to an emergency call at 959 W. 12th St.
Both Erie police and firefighters responded Tuesday to an emergency call at 959 W. 12th St.

Akopyan fell from the second floor to the basement, and died instantly of multiple blunt force trauma, Maloney said. He said the elevator was on third, or top floor, when he fell.

Cook said Akopyan had a key to open the elevator door, and he said investigators are looking into how the accident happened.

The 911 call came in at 3:54 p.m., Maloney said. The death was confirmed shortly before 5 p.m. by Deputy Erie Fire Chief Jeff Carroll, who was on the scene. Maloney declared Akopyan dead when he arrived at the scene.

An Erie firetruck was parked Tuesday outside 959 W. 12th St. after first responders were summoned to reports of a fall.
An Erie firetruck was parked Tuesday outside 959 W. 12th St. after first responders were summoned to reports of a fall.

Erie County property records describe the gray, three-story brick building at 959 W. 12th St. as a 64,000-square-foot warehouse that was built in 1922. It is a former hardware and lumber storage warehouse.

Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com.

Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com or 814-870-1813. Follow him on X @ETNpalattella.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Worker dies after falling down elevator shaft at Erie warehouse