The Region - News from Jan. 13, 1985

A teen-ager who crawled out of a stuck elevator at a department store in Panorama City to go for help was crushed by the machine’s heavy counterweights when it started to move, Los Angeles fire officials said. Durrell A. Beazer, 15, of Pacoima had been stuck in the elevator at The Broadway with two other people and crawled out through the top, but the elevator moved and the weights crushed him, fire spokesman Jim Wells said. Two other people stayed inside the elevator at the Panorama Shopping Center at 8333 Van Nuys Blvd. until rescuers arrived and were rescued unharmed, Wells said.