Former Vanderbilt player’s fall down elevator shaft serves as inspiration for clients
By Nick Cole
Published:
Nearly 16 years ago, a Vanderbilt football player beat the odds.
Former Commodores linebacker Luke Hammond fell more than 100 feet down an elevator shaft while trying to escape an overcrowded elevator that was stuck between the ninth and 10th floor of a university dorm.
And survived to tell the tale.
The Tennessean’s Mike Organ caught up with Hammond, who is now a criminal defense attorney, to relive the event and tell the tale of what happened next for the former Commodore.
Accord to Organ, the extent of Hammond’s injuries in 2000 were as follows:
Hammond blacked out, spent several days in a coma, had his spleen removed, both lungs collapsed, broke his collarbone and suffered a cut on his face that required more than 100 stitches, but he somehow recovered in time for spring practice eight months later.
Hammond returned to the football team for spring practice in 2001 and finished out the season under former head coach Woody Widenhofer, before calling it quits on his football career after being dismissed by new head coach Bobby Johnson in 2002.
Though he gave up the game, he continued to pursue his degree at Vanderbilt, graduating in 2005.
Hammond then attended law school at South Carolina and returned to practice law in his home state of Alabama, according to Organ.
“What I went through at Vanderbilt is really what enticed me to criminal law,” Hammond said. “I work a lot with indigent clients and poor clients and a lot of time it’s just people who are down on their luck for one reason or another like a drug problem or an alcohol problem. A lot of time it doesn’t seem like they’re getting a fair shake. I use what happened to me as a way to talk to them about the ability to recover from difficult situations. I tell them it could always be worse, and if you work at it, things can always get better.”
Hammond now practices law in Nashville.
Nick Cole is a former print journalist with several years of experience covering the SEC. Born and raised in SEC country, he has taken in the game-day experience at all 14 stadiums.
