Teen Football Player Crushed To Death After Elevator Malfunctions

An Atlanta teenager was crushed to death when an elevator malfunctioned and pinned him between two floors of an apartment building.

19-year-old JauMarcus McFarland, a Missouri resident, got jammed between the falling cab and the third floor of the building on Tuesday, Sept.1, afternoon, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

According to Channel 11 news in Atlanta, three teen football players including McFarland were taking the elevator on their way to practice when witnesses say the elevator stopped and opened on the third floor,

Two of the players got out but when McFarland tried to exit, the elevator fell crushing him between the top of the elevator and the floor of the shaft.

Horrified witnesses immediately called 911 as the teen’s legs dangled to the second floor below, the report said. McFarland became unresponsive and eventually died after rescuers worked an hour to free him, the Journal-Constitution said.

McFarland had just started his athletic career in August at Atlanta’s Champion Prep Academy,

His friends said McFarland was a football player who dreamed of going pro,

"JauMarcus was a wonderful teammate who touched the lives of those around him," a GoFundMe page for the athlete said. "We are at a loss and his family in Missouri is utterly devastated."

McFarland had been living in the building with fellow athletes, reports said.

Friends say the elevator’s poor condition has caused the freak accident. Repeated operational issues were reported and the elevator had been due for a state inspection in August 2020, WSBT reported.

While the tenants blame the elevator’s poor condition, the property manager, Nathan Phillips claims 16 people were inside the car when the accident took place. Philips said it pushed the car’s weight capacity 1,000 pounds over its 3,000-pound limit.

The overcrowding of the elevator caused a deadly "domino effect", reports said.

"We knew something like this was going to happen one day," teammate Bryson Grove told the station. "We didn’t know it was going to take one of our teammate’s lives."

McFarland’s coach at the academy, Michael Carson, said all of the students are like "our children".

"You value the time, the seconds, the minutes, the hours you have to spend with these guys," he told the Journal-Constitution. "And I hope they realize the importance of every moment they have to breathe life."