Car Rams Building, Jams Elevator with Woman Inside

Pasadena Fire Dept. officials report an out of control automobile smashed into a martial arts business in the 2200 block of East Colorado Boulevard shortly after 9:00 am  this morning, damaging an elevator shaft and trapping a passenger inside the elevator.

Authorities say that 15 Pasadena Fire Dept. personnel responded to the scene.

Upon arrival emergency personnel discovered the car had smashed through a large window and hit the wall on the west side of the building. The wall was adjacent to an elevator shaft, where the collision caused moderate damage to the elevator but caused it to stop running between floors.

A woman was trapped in the elevator, authorities say. Extrication equipment was used to open the doors and safely remove the passenger from the elevator.

Neither the car’s driver nor the elevator passenger was injured,  Fire Dept. spokesperson Lisa Derderian says.