AUSTIN, Texas — Some University of Texas at Austin students who live at Villas on Rio apartment complex in the West Campus area have raised concerns over recent elevator malfunctions at the property.
Jolene Fraga recounted getting stuck in the elevator twice in just the last week. One of those times, she was accompanied by a friend who was visiting at the time.
"We were going down like, around the 10th floor when the elevator stops. And then it drops to the fifth floor and it wouldn't open," Fraga said.
"We tried pushing the call button and the emergency call button, and nothing works. The button just wasn't working at all and eventually opened back up," added Faith Dalfonso, who was with Fraga at the time.
Fraga said that while the elevators have always been a bit shaky since she moved in in August, she hasn't experienced a fright quite like this one.
It led Fraga and Dalfonso to take their concerns to management on Saturday. But Fraga said when they got there, no manager was available.
However, coincidentally, while they were attempting to alert the issue to staff, the fire department was working to get somebody else out of a stalled elevator.
"There was someone that was actually stuck on the 16th floor. So like, the firemen had to come out and try to get them out of it," Fraga said.
"I know that even when we had talked to the fire department themselves, they had remarked that there had been issues going on with this building since it had been built," Dalfonso said.
KVUE reached out to the apartment complex on Saturday by phone and e-mail. We received the following response from management on Monday:
"In regards to your inquiry, we have been in contact with the on-site property manager and are aware of an instance over the weekend where an elevator was stuck. The fire department was called and they quickly responded to safely assist the people inside. The elevators had recently been inspected on January 9, 2024 and all passed inspection. A technician from TK Elevators has been on site this morning to evaluate the problem. A representative from AT&T has also been onsite today checking the elevator phone lines to ensure that communication services are working properly. We regret the inconvenience this caused and will continue to everything we can to ensure our elevators are working properly."
Villas on Rio has 19 floors and three elevators, according to residents.
Others explained the malfunctions have caused a major inconvenience and has led them to rearrange their schedules.
"It does become a really big problem, especially because it's not just like one elevator that breaks in two and then you just relying on that one elevator to take everyone from 18 floors, like up and down," said Hannah Yu, another Villas on Rio resident. "I have to kind of like, cater my schedule to if the elevator is working that day or like if it's not."
These residents only hope management is able to properly address the issue so that no one ends up injured – or worse.
"I would hate them to go through like huge lawsuit over it," Fraga said. "I think it's like, prevention they can do now."