NYC Woman Killed In Freak Elevator Accident
Dec 14, 2011 7 Comments ›› Angelia
Fire Department officials say a woman has died in a freak elevator accident at a New York City office building.
The accident occurred around 10 a.m. Wednesday in a 1920s office tower on Madison Avenue near Grand Central Terminal.
Fire officials say the woman was stepping onto the elevator on the 1st floor when either her foot or leg became caught in the closing door. The car then rose abruptly, dragging her body into the shaft and killing her.
The elevator then became stuck between the first and second floors. Two women who were on the elevator were taken to a hospital to be evaluated for psychological trauma but weren’t physically injured, Fire Department officials said.
Investigators with the fire department, the police department and the city’s buildings department were on the scene in midtown Manhattan. The name of the victim was not immediately released. Fire officials said she was 41.
Officials initially said they thought the elevator had fallen two floors.
The building is home to a large advertising agency (Y&R, formerly know as Young & Rubica,) and other tenants. The building is located at 285 Madison Avenue at East 40th Street, CBS New York reports.
A spokeswoman for Y&R, which announced just days ago that it planned to vacate the building for a new headquarters, confirmed that there had been a fatality but said she couldn’t yet provide additional information.
The company is among a number of tenants in the building.
