Emergency vehicles outside building where elevator accident killed worker (Credit: Marla Diamond/WCBS 880)
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) – A worker was killed Friday in a tragic accident in Manhattan, authorities said.
The 30-year-old elevator repairman was pinned between two elevators around 11:20 a.m. at the West End Towers building on West End Avenue between W. 62nd and W. 63rd streets, police said.
According to the FDNY, the repairman was working in the shaft below another elevator that suddenly dropped at least three floors, crushing him between the first floor and the basement.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
His name was not immediately released.
A second worker was uninjured, WCBS 880’s Marla Diamond reported.
The Department of Buildings has an inspector on-site and police say the investigation is ongoing.
Following the accident, residents of the building were shaken up. Jared was heading out to go grocery shopping around 11:15 a.m. when he realized something was amiss.
“Well the elevators weren’t coming, so we walked down some flights and we saw 30 cops in there and it was pretty crazy,” he said.
The luxury high-rise has three open violations for failure to maintain service equipment on the elevator, although it is unclear if that is what caused the fatal accident, Diamond reported.