The fall that left Tracey Penrod, co-owner of Fort Lauderdale’s iconic Elbo Room, in a medically induced coma last Tuesday was investigated as an aggravated domestic battery, according to a police report.
As of Thursday afternoon, Penrod remains in critical condition at Broward Health Medical Center. Last week, her brother Michael said she sustained severe brain damage and broken ribs.
Casey Liening, a spokesperson for Fort Lauderdale police, said last week that Penrod fell at her home and “the nature of the circumstances surrounding this incident remain unknown at this time.”
A police incident report released Thursday states that an offender committed an aggravated battery at the Fort Lauderdale home about 6:30 a.m., which resulted in the victim’s injuries. The rest of the report, including the name of the victim and of a person listed as the offender, is redacted.
In 911 audio released by the police department, a man’s voice is heard yelling for police to come.
“Please, please help,” he yells, out of breath. “I need an ambulance right away, I need an ambulance right away … fell off the banister. Please.”
He then tells the dispatcher “she was climbing over the banister” and “fell on the concrete.”
“I need somebody here to help!” he cries.
The call disconnects. In a second call, the man yells, “I need someone here right away … Please,” before the call disconnects again.
A woman had fallen about 12 feet, a dispatcher said on the Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue scanner. About 20 minutes later, Fire Rescue took a woman to the hospital from the home “with injuries sustained during a fall.”
A representative of the Penrods said in an emailed statement last week that they are working with authorities and will not comment further.
“FLPD’s investigation into the circumstances surrounding this fall is still ongoing,” Liening said Thursday.
The Penrod name has long been associated in South Florida with the Elbo Room.
The building where the Elbo Room stands, at the corner of Las Olas Boulevard and State Road A1A, was originally built for a snack shop called Kaufman’s before the bar opened in 1938 and was rebuilt in 1956. Part of the 1960s film “Where the Boys Are” that starred Connie Francis, Yvette Mimieux, Paula Prentiss and Dolores Hart as young northerners escaping to Fort Lauderdale for Spring Break was filmed at the Elbo Room.
Jack Penrod, father of Michael, Tracey and Michele Penrod, took over in the 1980s. The siblings are the current co-owners.
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