Was Elderly Woman’s Elevator Death a Freak Accident?

Last Friday, seventy-six-year-old Joy Quale, a Belizean-American retiree fell to her death at the Serenity Shores Resort in San Pedro. It happened when the hoist she was using to move from the fourth to the first floor gave way and went crashing to the ground with the woman inside, leaving her severely injured. Security and other personnel were alerted to the scene and Quale was rushed first to a clinic in San Pedro and then to Belize City, but died while receiving treatment. News Five’s Marion Ali has a report on what could have gone wrong on what many are calling a freak accident.

Marion Ali, Reporting

Seventy-six-year-old Joy Quale had just stepped into this lift, located on the exterior of the building at Serenity Shores Resort where she was staying. Her intention was to descend to the ground floor, but something went terribly wrong. The glass enclosure in which Quale stood went crashing to the ground with a loud bang, and leaving her with severe head injuries.  Security personnel were alerted and went to her aid. Quale was rushed to Hopes Clinic on the island, before being transferred to Belize City where she died. We visited the scene today, and while no one at the resort would talk about the incident or the lift itself, an elevator service specialist we spoke with said that the type of hoist is not an elevator but a goods winch, used to lift goods and supplies from floor to floor. A goods winch or hoist provides no protection to human life, as all elevators are designed to do. Hence, when the cable snapped, there was no braking system to stop the lift from freefalling to the ground. Additionally, he said that elevators are installed in the interior of building, not on the exterior where they are exposed to the elements and salt air. We understand that there’s an investigation still ongoing into the matter. Marion Ali for News Five.