“Could hardly stand”: 50-year-old stuck for hours in the train station elevator - with two knee prostheses

Created: 01/02/2022Updated: 01/02/2022, 6:32 PM

From: Jonas Napiletzki

The elevator at the Holzkirchen train station was forcibly opened by the fire brigade.

© Archive / AL

Antje Wittmoser took an elevator at the Holzkirchen train station.

The concept of driving is flexible, however: it only got about five centimeters.

Then the technology went on strike.

Holzkirchen - A platform change turned into an excruciating two hours for the woman with two knee prostheses.

The subsequent visit to the hospital is not included.

The next day, the Fischbachauerin reported to the local newspaper.

Excited, she calls into the receiver: "I can tell you how my day went yesterday." Then she starts.

“I took the S-Bahn from Deisenhofen to Holzkirchen.” She arrived at platform 2/3 at around 4:45 pm.

The 50-year-old commutes from Fischbachau to Deisenhofen.

There she works as a care assistant in a retirement home.

So far everything is normal.

Elevator gets stuck after five centimeters

Because of her two knee prostheses, Wittmoser then pressed the elevator button to get to the neighboring track to the BRB.

Wittmoser got in.

The doors closed.

The elevator started moving.

"But after five centimeters it was over." The elevator got stuck.

And the doors stayed locked.

It was 4:57 p.m.

After a call to the hotline, whose phone number is in the elevator, the Deutsche Bahn headquarters assured her that they would be able to help.

At the request of the telephone voice, Wittmoser also pressed the emergency call button in the elevator.

And then it happened: nothing at first.

After all: “We'll get in touch”, said the voice off-screen after asking about Wittmoser's well-being.

In the next few minutes, travelers and train drivers walked or drove undeterred by the elevator.

“Nobody looked.” Although she was at platform level.

First aid from the service provider fails

A little later the voice answered again.

“Are you still inside?” Asked a woman over the loudspeaker.

"Good joke," answered Wittmoser.

“The company is on site,” was the good news that echoed from the loudspeaker - 5:20 pm.

The company in this case consisted of a man "with a small suitcase" who tried to open the door armed with square keys.

"I'll get you out of here." But the mission failed.

There was nothing to be done for the man with the small suitcase.

Husband Josef Wittmoser did not hesitate long after a phone call with his wife: he alerted the police.

The police came - and alerted the fire brigade.

Wittmoser explains that she was instructed to turn around so as not to get any broken glass.

"At that time, I could hardly stand because of the prostheses and had to go to the toilet very urgently."

It was 7 p.m. when the fire brigade forced open the door.

The ambulance service was waiting outside when Wittmoser returned from the toilet.

The paramedics found high blood pressure, but could not lower it.

Wittmoser was driven to the Agatharied hospital.

“I was allowed to go at half past eleven.” Her husband picked her up.

She got up at 5:30 a.m. that day.

Paying for a taxi ride had declined the voice in the elevator.

"The trains are running."

Bahn spokeswoman apologizes

When asked by our newspaper, a railway spokeswoman gave her opinion.

"According to the protocol, the service provider has to be on site after 30 minutes." That worked: "The emergency call was triggered at 4:55 pm and he was on site at 5:21 pm."

The spokeswoman regrets that the liberation took a long time: "We're sorry."

That was at 5:00 p.m., 5:21 p.m., 5:55 p.m., 6:08 p.m. and 6:29 p.m.

"That shows that we care."

“The woman could be freed at 6:40 p.m.” Often this would not happen.

"We are sorry that it took so long," emphasized the spokeswoman again.

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