Student dies after falling down dorm elevator shaft

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- A Penn State University student died after falling more than 40 feet down an elevator shaft at a dormitory, authorities said Saturday.

Katherine Ibanez had been trying to get out of an elevator that had stopped between the third and fourth floors Friday night in Atherton Hall.

University police said seven people were in the elevator and had forced the doors open rather than waiting for help. Two students jumped out safely, but Ibanez, 21, slipped and fell backward into the open shaft, officials said.

Atherton Hall is home to Penn State's Schreyer Honors College. Ibanez, who was from West Palm Beach, Fla., had an off-campus address and did not live there.