Boy Died Trying to ‘Ride’ Atop Elevator, Police Say

A 13-year-old boy who was killed in a freak accident over the weekend had been trying to “ride” on top of an apartment-building elevator in a stunt that has apparently gained worrisome popularity in some areas, Los Angeles police said Sunday.

Police did not disclose the name or residence of the victim because he was a juvenile. He was visiting an apartment complex in the 1200 block of North Vermont Avenue with his mother about 5 p.m. Saturday, but he was alone in the elevator at the time of the accident, police said.

The victim was trying to remove the top service hatch from the elevator when a neck cord from his jacket apparently became entangled in the elevator’s sliding metal grate, according to the police account.

He became lodged between the elevator and the shaft, with his “bloodied and mangled body” coming to rest at the fourth-floor doorway, the police statement said.