A 56-year-old woman from Westchester died after she stepped out of an SUV and abruptly fell into an open manhole on a Midtown Manhattan street, police said Tuesday.
Donike Gocaj, from Briarcliff Manor, who was a Chase Bank supervisor in Midtown, had just parked her Mercedes-Benz SUV on E. 52nd St. near the corner of Fifth Ave. before stepping out of her vehicle around 11:20 p.m. and into the open manhole a moment later, cops said.
“I’m not giving any statements or comments at this time,” her heartbroken son told the Daily News when reached Tuesday.
Con Edison said in a statement that it was still investigating, but that it appears a heavy truck rolling over the manhole cover may have dislodged it.
“We have reviewed video footage from the area which suggests that the cover was dislodged after a multi-axle truck turning onto 52nd Street from 5th Avenue drove over it,” a spokesperson for the utility said. “Approximately 12 minutes later, the person involved in the incident parked her car nearby. We are reviewing the details, and while this is a rare occurrence, manhole covers can get displaced by heavy vehicles.
“Our thoughts remain with her family, and safety remains our top priority.”
She fell about 10 feet, police said. Firefighters quickly removed her from the hole and EMS rushed her to Cornell Weill Medical Center, where she died, police said.
Her cause of death was not immediately known.
Carlton Wood, 36, was on his way to work when he saw Gocaj fall.
“It was like she disappeared,” said Wood. “I saw her get out of her car, I seen her take a step forward, and then I didn’t see her anymore.”
“That’s how quickly she just dropped into this hole. It was like those cartoons where they just vanish.”
Wood said he dialed 911 and bystanders mounted several unsuccessful rescue attempts as they waited for firefighters to arrive.
“One guy tried to go into the hole. He like, sat on the edge of the hole and dipped his body in, and we actually had to pull him back out,” said Wood. “I guess it was deeper than he had initially thought. Somebody had a ladder in their car, but obviously that was too short.”
As the good Samaritans tried in vain to reach her, Gocaj could be heard screaming.
“I’m dying,” she said, over and over from inside the hole, Wood recalled.
By the time cops arrived at the scene, EMS had already rushed Gocaj to the hospital, officials said.
Sam Muhammed, a neighbor of Gocaj’s, told The News she was a supervisor at Chase Bank in Midtown.
“She was a very good woman,” he said. “I can’t believe it. She lived here, but she had another home, too. I just talked to her son, and he can’t speak about his mother,” he said, indicating the son was too devastated to talk.
Visitors to Midtown were stunned that a manhole could be left open in one of the city’s most heavily traveled areas. The manhole was located outside the Cartier store, officials said.
“I never seen a manhole by itself open,” said Alex, a union carpenter for more than 25 years. “Usually, it’s well protected and covered up. Every time I see them, they’re always guarded. Usually they are marked out and covered up, and there would be cones,”
“Someone didn’t do their job. You can’t leave the manhole open,” added Steven George, a local IT director. “You can’t open (a manhole), it’s heavy. You need a metal rod to open the manhole up.”
“It’s horrific,” George, 68, said, thinking about the tragedy. “I’ve seen people get hit by cars, but nothing like this. I tell my children don’t go on their phones when they are walking. Just be vigilant.”
Gocaj’s distraught relatives told WABC Eyewitness News that the Westchester resident had two children and two grandchildren. The most recent entry on her Facebook page celebrates what appears to be the First Communion of a young relative.
“I’m shaken just thinking of that. How insane is that,” asked one Midtown worker, who would only identify himself as Michael. “It’s a horrible mistake. The family should be so angry.”
Word of Gocaj’s death hit home for Michael in another way, he said.
“She’s the same age as me,” he said. “It’s not a time to die.”
Con Edison covered the hole as they continued the probe how the hole was left open and unprotected.
“We are actively investigating how this occurred,” a Con Ed spokesperson said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with the individual’s family, and safety remains our top priority.”
