Stranded and Traumatized
The answer is yes. In 2003, Texas-based Dr. Hitoshi Nikaidoh died in this very scenario. A physician’s assistant, Karin Steinau, entered the elevator—which for days was out of order but was recently back in operation—and pressed the button for her floor. At the last minute, as the doors were closing, Dr. Nikaidoh tried to slip in but the doors closed on him and trapped him.
Steinau attempted to hit the emergency stop button to no avail. Soon, the elevator continued up and Dr. Nikaidoh was partially decapitated. The elevator stopped in between floors and Steinau was trapped for a while in the elevator with Dr. Nikaidoh’s severed head. After she was rescued, she was treated for shock.
