Elevator Accident Survivor Recalls Close Call

Anne Landle, 94, says last week's elevator accident that killed Suzanne Hart brought back her horrifying experience

Anne Landle of Queens was shocked and horrified by last week's fatal elevator accident because, she says, it almost happened to her.

"I think I'm very lucky," Landle said of her close call.

Last Wednesday, when 41-year-old advertising executive Suzanne Hart stepped into the elevator at her Madison Avenue office building, the lift shot up with the doors still open, killing her.

The tragic accident was a painful reminder of Landle's own nightmare.

It was in 2009 when 94-year-old Landle was leaving an eye appointment in a Park Avenue building and pressed the elevator button to go down. The elevator door opened, then immediately closed on her, crushing her.

"Here was the gash," she said, pointing to the back of her head. "The pain goes all the way from here down to my spine."

The grandmother of five said the impact sent her crashing backward to the marble floor. Her husband Charles, who had been waiting in the car, couldn't believe his eyes.

"A lot of blood was coming out," he said. "There was blood on the floor."

Two years later, the Queens couple still has an ongoing lawsuit for personal injury. But they say they can't believe they were spared and Suzanne Hart was not.

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