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Boy Dies After Falling Down Elevator Shaft In Park Slope

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Brooklyn family is in mourning after their 4-year-old boy died after falling down an elevator shaft.

The accident happened Wednesday night  around 8:30 p.m. at a parking garage at 841 Union St. in Park Slope.

Jack Roberts tumbled through a gap between a wall and the elevator and fell about 50 feet from the third floor, police said.

As CBS2's Valerie Castro reported Wednesday, the elevator transports cars up and down through several levels.

Police told CBS2's Esha Ray the boy's family had left something in their car parked on the third floor of the garage. After an attendant took them up in the freight elevator, the father went to his car and left Jack and the mother near the elevator. That's when the boy tripped back and fell 50 feet into the open shaft.

Jack died Thursday morning at New York Methodist Hospital.

Alicia Soriano, the boy's nanny, said she feels like she's lost her family.

"He's like my family," Soriano said. "He's like my grandson."

Police said the normal procedure would have been to have the family wait downstairs while the car was brought down to them. In this case, the parking attendant decided to make an exception.

Bo Dobrikov, who works in Park Slope, said the attendant made the wrong move.

"I think it's horrible, horrible. Like you would hope they have safety precautions, like something block in the elevator shaft to protect children because it's Park Slope, which is a really strong family community," Dobrikov said. "Rules are there for a reason."

Police are not considering any criminal charges as of now.

Soriano, who had known Jack since he was 2 months old, said she cannot yet forgive the attendant.

"He's a really good boy," Soriano said of Jack.

New York City's Department of Buildings is investigating the incident.

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