Repairman Dies Under Escalator

A worker repairing an escalator at Santa Ana’s Central Courthouse was killed Thursday when the power to the stairs was turned on, trapping him underneath.

Mark Pillitiere, 37, of Norco was standing in a 3-foot by 5-foot space under the “down” side of the stairs about 11:30 a.m. When the escalator came on, Pillitiere was trapped between the structural support and the metal mechanism. Within 30 seconds, an Orange County sheriff’s security deputy who heard the man’s cries turned off the emergency power switch.

A Santa Ana Fire Department crew responded within three minutes, but the worker was dead at the scene with massive injuries, authorities said.

Pillitiere was a contractor for the courthouse through Fujitec America Inc. in Torrance, where he had worked for three months. His co-worker on the Santa Ana job was not injured.

“We’re investigating to see what caused the power to come on,” Sheriff’s Department spokesman Jim Amormino said. Emergency power switches are at the top and bottom of the escalators, and a main power switch at the top can be operated only with a key, he said.

The Sheriff’s Department and the California Division of Occupational, Safety and Health, which monitors workplace injuries, are conducting independent investigations, authorities said.