Three stuck in elevator

By Karen Blackledge
The Daily Item

June 27, 2008 08:18 am

— DANVILLE -- A mother, daughter and granddaughter were trapped in an elevator for about 20 minutes in the Thomas Beaver Free Library.
Kathy McWilliams, her 7-year-old granddaughter, Kaylee Hunt, and her 92-year-old mother, Kate Wintersteen, who uses a walker, were stuck about six inches below the main floor. They were headed to a summer reading program at about 10:45 a.m. Thursday.
Library director Bonnie White said they pushed an emergency button to alert others to their predicament. She said she could hear them in the elevator.
"Electricians were working on the power outside. Our computers went out at the same time," she said of the power interruption that caused the elevator to stop.
While the Danville Fire Department and ambulance were responding along with Danville police, White found the elevator key in the basement and opened the elevator door. She hung the key at a more accessible spot near the elevator for future rescues.
After the three got out safely, White gave Kaylee the book "Diary of a Spider" for being the "first brave young woman" stuck in their elevator.
n E-mail comments to kblackledge@thedanvillenews.com.