The woman who died in an elevator accident in Boston's Allston neighborhood Monday has been identified as the investigation into what happened in the case continues.
Boston police said Tuesday she was Carrie O'Connor, 38, and she died of traumatic asphyxiation. Her death was deemed accidental.
Boston University confirmed that O'Connor was a French lecturer at the school. Her mother told the school publication BU Today that O'Connor was a dedicated student who loved traveling and baking.
Meanwhile, Boston's Division of Professional Licensure said the elevator had been recently inspected and was in compliance with state regulations.
Another person was taken to an area hospital from the building on Commonwealth Avenue and Thorndike Street, police have said. That person's condition hasn't been given, and they haven't been identified.
Police haven't said what they believe took place in the accident in the building on Monday around 5:15 p.m. But neighbors tell NBC10 Boston they heard horrific screams.
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"It was horrifying," said Leanne Scorzino, who lives on the first floor. "It wasn't a cry. I can't even describe what it was. I went out in the hall because I genuinely thought someone was being murdered."
She said she spoke with a man who cautioned O’Connor that the large box she was trying to load onto the building's old, small elevator wouldn't fit. That neighbor thinks O'Connor's box may have somehow gotten the elevator to start moving and she somehow got off.
When Scorzino arrived in the hallway, the elevator door was open and she could see the top of the car and the cables, she said.
Another resident of the first floor, Nevada Foskit, said the elevator has to be completely shut before it moves.
"It's an old elevator. It's an old building, I assume, but it's never had any issues for me," Foskit said.
The building manager said the elevator passed an inspection in the last year. Boston licensing officials confirmed that Tuesday in a statement to the NBC10 Boston Investigators.
The elevator "was recently inspected and was certified in accordance with state regulations," a Division of Professional Licensure spokeswoman said, extending the department's condolences to the victim's loved ones.
She said they are investigating the incident and working with authorities to find its cause.
O'Connor was starting her second year teaching at BU full-time after two years teaching part-time, according to BU Today. She'd also taught at other schools in the area -- MIT, Tufts, Northeastern and Bentley University -- as well as Louisiana State.
“Already then, and even more so now, she was an intrinsic part of the French section and the department at large,” professor Odile Cazenave, chair of romance studies at BU, said in an email to the department, according to the publication.
