An elevator malfunction sent two people to the hospital, including one in critical condition. (WPVI)
By Sarah Bloomquist
Updated 23 mins ago
CENTER CITY (WPVI) -- A Sheriff's Department sergeant and a court clerk were injured in a chain reaction incident involving two elevators at the Criminal Justice Center in Center City.
It happened just before 10:30 Thursday morning in a bank of elevators reserved for employees at the CJC.
There was a failure at the top of one elevator, sending it flying up into a maintenance room, with a sheriff's deputy inside. Debris from that crash hit a second elevator, carrying a court employee.
The 48-year-old Sheriff's Deputy, identified as Sgt. Paul Owens, was taken to Hahnemann University Hospital in critical condition where he underwent surgery after suffering broken bones in his back.
Family members and fellow sheriff's deputies rushed to be by Sgt. Paul Owens' side as he was about to go into surgery Thursday afternoon.
The court clerk who was hurt, Beverly Smith, was treated at the hospital and released.
When the malfunction happened people at the Criminal Justice Center heard what some thought was an explosion. An announcement then came over the loud speakers telling everyone to evacuate.
The decision was made to shut down all operations within the Criminal Justice Center for the remainder of the day. The courts will also be closed on Friday, with the exception of certain bail matters and protection from abuse orders.
We know now that Sgt. Owens had just left the hearing for Monsignor William Lynn. He was going to collect a jury on another matter when, for some reason, the elevator car he was in moved upward with such force it breached the shaft ceiling. Debris from the impact rained down more than 100 feet onto the elevator carrying Smith.
Philadelphia Fire Department Deputy Commissioner Jessie Wilson explains, "The sheriff was at the top most sections of one of the elevators and the woman who was transported was at the bottom most section of the other elevator."
According to the sheriff, Sgt. Owens, who's been with the department since 1989, suffered broken bones in his back when he was tossed about the elevator car as it jumped upward toward the roof.
Sheriff Jewell Williams tells us, "It's like a projectile in a building or in a box, and you stop and everything moves. That's what I think happened."
City records show that all the elevators, which are used only by court employees and jurors, were inspected by the state on June 14th and passed that inspection. The remaining elevators in the building were cleared again on Thursday by state inspectors.