Cal OSHA is investigating an elevator accident that killed Annette Lujan, 48, a Cal State Long Beach employee. She was trying to get out of a stuck elevator on campus
"She always had a smile on her face," remembers Michelle LeClair. She says her mother, Annette Lujan, was a girl scout leader and a happy person who worked as a grant writer at Cal State Long Beach.
"It might sound callous this way, but it's fitting," said LeClair. "Anything else nature would have thrown at her wouldn't have worked. She was that feisty of a woman."
In front of the CSLB Foundation Building, where the accident happened, flowers and a teddy bear have been left to pay tribute to Lujan. She was a mother of two who had worked for CSLB for many years.
Greg Scoble, a student at the school, did not know Lujan. But he felt the need to pay respects.
"This was a human being," said Scoble. "You know she died on our campus. I felt bad about that. I felt the right thing to do was to deliver some flowers here."
Cal OSHA is investigating the accident. Firefighters say a 2,000 pound elevator crushed Lujan between floors as she tried to escape.
"They (investigators) are on site right now and conducting tasks and inspections on the elevator," said school spokeswoman Toni Beron. "We have no word from them yet."
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
For now, the two elevators in the building are shut down. Many employees say the elevators frequently got stuck.
"I can't respond to that because I certainly haven't heard them," said Beron. "However, the elevator was last inspected in April and passed all inspection points."
Follow NBCLA for the latest LA news, events and entertainment: Twitter: @NBCLA // Facebook: NBCLA
