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Testimony wraps up in Alberta inquiry into
elevator death
Last Updated Thu, 30 Jun 2005 10:27:37 EDT
CBC News
The mother of a 16-year-old boy who plunged
down an elevator shaft to his death last year says she's satisfied
with the testimony given by 22 witnesses over 4½ weeks of hearings.
"I'm very confident that some good results are
going to come from this," Lorena Young, the mother of Kyle Young,
said after the fatality inquiry into his death wrapped up Wednesday.
"To be quite honest, I'm not a real important person in this world.
I don't have a lot of clout.
 "My
son was considered a brat. And I wasn't expecting the amount of
involvement that these people have done. I believe justice will be
done."
Young was handcuffed, shackled and with two
guards when he fell five storeys down the elevator shaft at the
Edmonton courthouse on Jan. 22, 2004, becoming suspended by his neck
on a structural bracket.
He had been disruptive and was being moved to
another floor. He had also been in an altercation with staff at the
courthouse, where he was appearing on weapons charges, and police
were considering charging him with assault.
Testimony was given during two weeks in January
and at another session in June. Lawyers will give closing arguments
in September and a final report from the inquiry judge is expected
in November. The judge is only allowed to make recommendations, not
to find blame.
Lorena Young, Kyle's mom
The Young family would like to see
recommendations that include better training for guards and more
safety measures for the elevators.
"Almost every single engineer that's been on
the stand in the last week and a half has suggested the same thing,
that retainers be installed in all the doors," Kyle Young's sister
Charmagne said.
The 240-pound guard escorting Young when he
fell told the inquiry that the teen had began squirming, and he
placed his arm across the 121-pound teen's back. He said he pushed
him into the door, which then just popped open.
The inquiry heard earlier that there had been
problems with the doors before, popping off its track, trapping
guards or opening before they were supposed to.
And an elevator expert testified that he
believed a pin meant to hold the door in its track was broken before
the accident. He said the amount of force needed to dislodge the
door was equivalent to a 150-pound person walking into the door at a
fast pace.
Alberta Justice determined that the guards
pushed Young against the elevator door with enough force to knock it
off its tracks, but also said the guards used a "modest" amount of
restraint and followed normal procedures.
Alberta Justice also decided that there was
insufficient evidence to charge anyone in connection with the death,
based on an investigation done by Edmonton Police homicide
detectives.
Kyle Young died when he fell down an
elevator shaft at an Edmonton courthouse
in 2004.
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