Broken Elevator Has Elderly Residents Trapped In Local Apartment Complex

WILKINSBURG (KDKA) -- Lunchtime for Kitty West, today it's a little salad. And when you are 102-years-old, that's just dandy.

She proud of her age, but didn't call KDKA's Marty Griffin to her home in Wilkinsburg for that. She's worried about her safety.

Griffin: "Do you need an elevator, ma'am?"

West: "Of course I do."

Griffin: "Are you trapped in here?"

West: "I'm trapped."

The problem, just down the hall from West's place - the elevator is broken. It's been broken nearly two weeks. It's only a three-story building, but when you are 102-years-old, that's a long way to walk stairs.

The treacherous trip down the stairs also tore up Clare Coleman.

Griffin: "So, you had to be hospitalized last time?"

Coleman: "Yes."

The 85-year-old also lives on the third floor. She says she was hospitalized from injuries last time she walked down the stairs. Her health issues read like a medical dictionary.

Griffin: "If you went down those stairs today, what could happen to you?"

Coleman: "I could possibly have a heart attack and die."

Griffin: "And die?"

Coleman: "Yes."

We took the stairs and entered the lobby in search of the apartment manager. Instead, we found resident Elva Earl.

"It's a crime," said Earl. "They have us living here like we're prisoners."

The woman who told KDKA she was the manager, walked away when we tried to talk with her, yelling from behind a wall that they have every intention of fixing the problem as soon as possible.

If you'd like Marty to help you solve your problem, email him at GetMarty@kdka.com.

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