Person Falls Down Elevator Shaft Causing Somerset County School To Close

FRANKLIN, NJ — Federal authorities are investigating after a Watchung resident fell down an elevator shaft at a charter school in Somerset County.

On Thursday, Feb. 2 at 2:28 p.m., the Franklin Township Police Department got a 911 call reporting an injured fall victim located inside a building on Mettlers Road, said Franklin Township Police Lt. Vincent T. Wilson.

That building was the Central Jersey College Prep Charter School.

Franklin Township Police Officers, along with the Middlebush Fire Company, Somerset Fire Company, Elizabeth Avenue Fire Company, and Millstone Valley Fite Department went to the school to extract the victim, a 38-year-old Watchung resident, from inside an elevator shaft, said Wilson.

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital BLS and ALS treated the victim, who sustained multiple injuries.

The victim was treated and taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital-New Brunswick.

The school was ordered to be evacuated by the Franklin Township fire marshal and fire inspectors and the building remains closed Friday pending an OSHA(Occupational Safety and Health Administration) investigation.

Central Jersey College Prep Charter School's Chief Education Officer Dr. Namik Sercan issued a statement on Thursday night:

We apologize for the last-minute nature of this communication, but we were just informed that Central Jersey College Prep's Somerset campus will be closed tomorrow, Friday, February 2nd, due to a facilities issue.

If you have any questions or concerns, please call the school office at 908-679-9170, and we will do our best to return your call before the weekend. We will follow up with further information over the weekend.

Thank you for your understanding.

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