Ohio ready to release $1M in elevator death claim

COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio is preparing to release $1 million to the family of a student killed more than four years ago by a dormitory elevator.

Ohio State University student Andrew Polakowski of Erie, Pa., died Oct. 20, 2006, when he was pinned trying to leave an overcrowded elevator that was stuck between floors.

The lawsuit filed by Polakowski’s parents alleged the school was negligent with regard to the elevator that crushed the 18-year-old.

Last month’s settlement requires OSU to pay $1 million, but the university also is receiving $612,500 from five companies involved in manufacturing and maintaining the elevator.

At the time of the accident, the elevator was crowded with 24 people, exceeding its weight capacity by as much as 1,100 pounds. It began to descend with its doors open.