Man Dies After Falling From Malfunctioning Elevator in Williamsburg: NYPD
By Ben Fractenberg and Trevor Kapp | October 2, 2015 8:20am
A man was killed after falling down an elevator shaft at 156 Hope St. in Williamsburg early Friday morning, according to police. DNAinfo/Trevor Kapp
WILLIAMSBURG — A man was killed after falling down an elevator shaft in Williamsburg early Friday, according to the NYPD.
The 37-year-old Queens man was in the elevator at 156 Hope St. at about 4:18 a.m. when it suddenly jerked and the doors opened, a police spokesman and sources said.
He fell out and got crushed between the shaft and the elevator, the spokesman added.
The man suffered trauma to his head and torso and was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity has not yet been released by the NYPD.
His friend, Mona Ramsdell, said she was in the elevator with him when it started to malfunction.
“We walked into the elevator and it just went down and it went up. Now my friend is dead because of it,” Ramsdell. “I gave mouth-to-mouth to my friend this morning trying to save his life. I'm really upset."
Building resident Pez Epstein, 44, said the elevator has had "lots of problems" in the past.
"It's always made this weird noise, like a rattling," Epstein said. "They came to fix it maybe a month ago. They'd come and fix it and it'd break again."
Department of Buildings Commissioner Rick Chandler said the agency was not aware of any "outstanding problems" with the elevator.
"However, my staff here is going to put it through its paces," Chandler told reporters after stopping by the building Friday morning. "We're waiting for some weights to come and we're going to test it fully loaded, category 5 testing, and check all of its parts, so right now the investigation is ongoing."
Investigators would also try to determine if the elevator may have been overloaded at the time of the incident, Chandler added, or if it was trying to level off properly at a floor.
The building had several complaints in 2012 that the elevator would "jerk" and its doors would open between floors, according to the Department of Buildings.
A man who identified himself as a supervisor for the elevator maintenance company said he was "very surprised" by the incident.
"We do routine monthly maintenance on them," said George Herling, who said he worked for P&W Elevators. "I'm very concerned to see what happened."
The company was also listed in DOB records as having inspected the elevator at least five times since 2013, most recently in July, at which time it was deemed "satisfactory."
https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20151002/williamsburg/man-dies-after-falling-from-malfunctioning-elevator-williamsburg-nypd
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Man Dies After Being Crushed By Elevator In Williamsburg
by Jen Chung in News on Oct 2, 2015 9:15 am
(Google Maps)
A man was pronounced dead early this morning after apparently being crushed by a "malfunctioning" elevator in a Williamsburg apartment building
Police responded to a 911 call at 156 Hope Street around 4:18 a.m. and found a 37-year-old man, "unconscious and unresponsive, with trauma to the head and torso." Responding EMS pronounced him dead at the scene. According to ABC 7, "he became trapped between the elevator and the floor, during an apparent malfunction."
The location is the luxury apartment rental building The Espoir. The Post reports, "A source said the elevator malfunctioned and somehow crushed the man... The victim didn’t live at Espoir Luxury Rentals, which features a gym, roof deck and a game room."
Update: The Daily News has more details of the tragedy: The victim and his roommate had entered the elevator, but then it plunged with the doors open.
"He got scared and tried to jump out when it dropped," said roommate and close friend Mona Zarrin Ramshell.
The victim's head was caught between the elevator and lobby floor when the elevator suddenly shot upwards mid-leap.
"The elevator just dropped and then shoots up," Ramshell said, tears streaming down her cheeks. "His head was out and his body was in."
Ramshell was able to escape the elevator through a hatch in the bottom. She ran up to the lobby and started giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to her roommate.
"I got up to him and it looked like he was dead," she said.
"I felt his pulse stop and he was dead. I was telling him, 'I love you, baby. You'll be OK.' I started singing to him."Ramshell said that he was revived at one point, opening an eye, but then "I could just feel his energy die."
She said that the building has notoriously troubled elevators. Another resident agreed, telling DNAinfo, "It's always made this weird noise, like a rattling. They came to fix it maybe a month ago. They'd come and fix it and it'd break again."
Source:http://gothamist.com/2015/10/02/elevator_death_williamsburg.php