A 19-year-old student-athlete has died in an elevator accident after the car dropped and he was pinned between two floors at an apartment complex in Atlanta, Georgia.
JauMarcus McFarland, 19, was pinned between the second and third floor for more than an hour after the car malfunctioned and fell on to him as he stepped off.
McFarland was a student at Champion Prep Academy - a school that bridges the gap between high school and college and helps prepare students academically and athletically for higher education in a one-semester program.
Friends have blamed the condition of the elevator at the building at 444 Highland Avenue, which is partially used for student housing.
But the building's manager Nathan Phillips insisted that the car had been overloaded with 16 people.
JauMarcus McFarland, 19, was a football star at Champion Prep Academy in Atlanta, Georgia, before he was killed in a freak elevator accident on Tuesday
McFarland and 15 other students crammed themselves into an elevator in their dorm building when students reported it felt like it was beginning to freefall before stopping normally on the third floor, according to News Channel 21. McFarland and two others exited the elevator, but before he could get off completely, the elevator began moving again and the ceiling crushed him, pinning him between the elevator and the third floor
He said the group exceeded the maximum weight, causing a 'domino effect' which made the elevator fall. They claim the car was 1,000lbs over its 3,000lb limit.
Phillips told WLTX: 'Unfortunately, this appears to be what started the domino effect of events leading to the unfortunate death of this young man.
'This is a horrible tragedy, and it deeply saddens us all that this has happened.'
A witness reported that the elevator began to feel like it was freefalling before stopping normally on the third floor, according to News Channel 21.
McFarland lived in the 444 Highland Avenue building (pictured) at Champion Prep Academy, a school that bridges the gap between college and high school by helping student prepare academically and athletically in a one-semester program
Three students exited the elevator immediately, including McFarland, but before he could exit completely, the elevator actually began to fall again, trapping him between the shaft and the two floors, News Channel 21 said.
One student told police that the top