Overview
- The 56-year-old, identified by relatives as Donike Gocaj of Briarcliff Manor, fell around 11:20 p.m. Monday after parking her Mercedes-Benz near Fifth Avenue and East 52nd Street and was later pronounced dead at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell.
- Con Edison said surveillance footage appears to show a multi-axle truck dislodging the manhole cover about 12 minutes before the fall, a developing detail now central to the probe.
- Sources reported no active construction at the corner and said the cover was found about 15 feet from the opening, while city rules require any open street hole to be clearly barricaded.
- The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death, and police reported no arrests as the NYPD and Con Edison continue their investigation.
- Relatives returned to the site Tuesday morning seeking answers, a scene that highlights wider concerns about how street utility vaults are secured in one of the city’s busiest areas.