Williamsburg Man Dies In the Malfunctioning Elevator of Luxury Condo
Yesterday, in a nightmare come true, a Williamsburg man died as he tried to escape a malfunctioning elevator in a luxury condo on Hope Street. The New York Daily News reports that the victim and a friend boarded the elevator at 4:15am when it suddenly plunged. But because the doors remained open, the victim attempted to disembark the elevator and was then caught when the elevator suddenly shot upwards.
The 37-year-old victim, whose name has yet to be released, apparently did not live in the building. His friend managed to climb out of the elevator via “a hatch in the bottom,” and she then “ran up to the lobby and started giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.” The victim died in the lobby of his wounds.
While this tragedy is certainly a freak accident, it is worth noting that, as the News reports, “the building has been plagued by elevator problems,” and has had “four elevator violations since 2013,” though all have since been resolved. One of those violations, however, centered around the fact that a complainant reported that the “elevator door opens half way and shakes up and down sometimes when stopping on floor.”
The Buildings Department is investigating the incident.