OTTAWA -- A man in his 80s has lost both his legs after being pinned in the threshold of an elevator door at an Ottawa seniors home.
Police say the man's injuries were so severe his legs had to be amputated in hospital, where he remains in critical condition.
Paramedics were called to the scene in the city's south end (on Viewmount Drive) around 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, where they found the man with both his legs pinned in the elevator.
Ottawa paramedics spokesman J.P. Trottier says the man's legs were pinned "between the floor of the elevator and one of the floors of the apartment building."
Paramedics stabilized the man while a technician manually lowered the elevator.
The man was conscious at the time and suffered life-threatening fractures and crush injuries to both his legs. It's not clear exactly how he became pinned but police are investigating.
"It took about 15 or 20 minutes or so to manually lower the elevator to free the man," said Trottier.
"During that time the paramedics were treating him, trying to stabilize his condition."
"He did suffer some very serious injuries to both legs -- crush-type injuries and fractures -- and he was in critical condition upon arrival at hospital," said Trottier.
With a full report from Matt Skube on CTV Ottawa News at 6.
