"All he had was a cellphone. I said, 'Brendon, don't get in there, it's too dark' ... I said, 'Go upstairs and ask the Arrow people for a torch," he said today during a coronial inquest into Scheib's death.
He was unsure if Scheib was using a torch on his phone, or simply the light of the screen.
But in his Worksafe interview on January 28, 2016, Corleison did not mention anything about torches and cellphones.
"[I] had a bit of a chat to him and asked him 'oh, what are you doing Brendon?'" the interview transcript said.
"And he said 'I've just got a repair to do'. And it was no more than that."
Corleison told Worksafe they exchanged a few more pleasantries about the weather and Christmas, and then he left.
An inquest into Scheib's death is being held in Wellington this week before Coroner Tim Scott.
Corleison had not been involved in the inquest, but came to the court this morning after seeing an article about the proceedings in the newspaper.
He said he had worked in the neighbouring building for a long time, and often saw Scheib working on the lifts.
"I'd worked in that building for over 30 years and Brendon had been the lift serviceman for many of those years," he said.
When he was unable to persuade Scheib to get a torch, he continued on his way, he said.
The lawyer for the family, Daniel Vincent, said photos taken after the incident showed Scheib had what appeared to be a head torch.
Corleison said he didn't remember seeing any head torch and wouldn't have made the comment about the cellphone if he had.
Scheib had 27 years' experience as a level 4 service technician with Otis.
On the day he was killed, he had phoned his bosses at 3.05pm to say he had finished repairing the lift at T&G Building, Grey St, Wellington.
A Worksafe report into the incident reveals that Scheib was still there carrying out repairs at 3.30pm when he was last seen by an associate of the building owner.
At 5.29pm, the lone worker alarm - which is the sound of a barking dog - was activated, sending an automated alert to the Otis call centre. Scheib was found dead by a co-worker, having been crushed between the lift car and shaft.
The lone worker alarm sounds after two hours of non-activity on the worker's cellphone.
After investigating, WorkSafe stated that it will remain unclear exactly how Scheib's death occurred.
"From the evidence available it is unclear how this situation arose."
Earlier today the court heard evidence from an Otis lift expert who said he would not recommend the type of pit switches that were used in that particular lift pit.
When activated, the pit switch will keep the lift from moving.
The switch in question was on when Scheib's body was found. The possibilities were that Scheib activated the switch when he saw the lift cab descending towards him, but was too late to stop it hitting him, or that when he was hit by the cab, his body pressed against the switch and turned it on, halting its movement.
Lift expert John Tibbitts said the pit switch used in that situation was a button type, which he was not in favour of as it was difficult to tell whether it was activated or not.
He recommended lever-style switches with clearly marked on and off sections.
Yesterday Otis' general manager Dwaine Scott said a controlled re-enactment of the accident revealed it would have been easy for a worker to knock the pit switch and turn it off with their foot if they were climbing and straddling the top of the lift ladder, as Scheib was.
"It's not 100 per cent, something else could have happened, but it was our best assumption," Scott said.
The court earlier heard how workers were instructed to always have two means of control, meaning two ways of keeping the lift from moving. Some of these means of control include the pit switches, a door lock to keep the lift doors from closing, and an isolator in the machine room which disables the lift.
It is unclear what means of control Scheib was using when the tragedy happened.
At the end of the inquest this morning, Coroner Tim Scott said he appreciated Otis had a duty of care to do all reasonable things to keep Scheib safe, "but I don't accept that they were required to guarantee his safety under all circumstances".
Outside the court, lawyer Daniel Vincent said Corleison's evidence was "upsetting" for the family.
He said Corleison was interviewed by WorkSafe after the death and didn't mention anything about a cellphone.
Coroner Scott has reserved his decision.
