A 56-year-old woman from Westchester County, New York, plunged to her death Monday night after she stepped out of her car in New York City.
The woman fell to her death just before midnight on Monday near the Cartier and Nike stores at East 52nd Street and 5th Avenue in midtown Manhattan, the New York Post reported.
Emergency services arrived to find her unconscious and unresponsive inside the open utility manhole. After she was pulled out she was rushed to New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where she died from her injuries.
A representative from Con Edison, the utility company, said they are looking into why the manhole was not covered.
CBS News reported:
The woman’s family visited the scene Tuesday morning, trying to understand how this unthinkable tragedy occurred. Her daughter-in-law told CBS News New York there were no cones, warning signs, or barriers around the manhole. The daughter-in-law was visibly shaken as she spoke, saying the family is still trying to take in the incident.
City rules require manholes to be covered or clearly blocked off to prevent exactly this kind of tragedy and public hazard. So the big question now is how did this one end up uncovered in one of the busiest areas of New York City?
“We are deeply saddened to confirm that a member of the public has died after falling into an open manhole,” the spokesperson told the New York Post.
The Con Edison spokesperson continued, “We are actively investigating how this occurred. Our thoughts are with the individual’s family, and safety remains our top priority.”
The New York Police Department said that the medical examiner will determine the woman’s cause of death.