Man dies after falling down elevator shaft at Joliet building

A 23-year-old man has died after he fell down in elevator shaft at a Joliet building.

Agustin Martinez-Gallegos, 23, was pronounced dead about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox, according to the Will County Coroner’s Office.

Almost an hour earlier, officers responded to a building at 225 Maple St. for a report of a person who fell down an elevator shaft and found Martinez-Gallegos, according to a statement from the Joliet Police Department.

Officers immediately provided him medical assistance until paramedics arrived, police said.

They later learned that Martinez-Gallegos was among other employees on the second floor of the building and he was assisting in carrying cabinets from an elevator, police said.

Officers believe the elevator began rising to a higher floor while the elevator door remained open and was blocked by the cabinets, police said.

Officers believe Martinez-Gallegos attempted to escape from the rising elevator and became caught between the elevator floor and the second floor ceiling, before he fell into the elevator shaft, police said.

Officers found no signs of foul play and believe Martinez-Gallegos’ death is “accidental in nature.”

The incident is under investigation by the police department and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the coroner’s office said.