Overview
- A 56-year-old woman, later identified as Donike Gocaj of Briarcliff Manor, fell about 10 feet into an open Con Edison manhole after exiting her parked SUV on Fifth Avenue and was pronounced dead after being taken to the hospital following Monday night’s incident.
- The New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the death an accident and listed cause as scald burns with inhalational thermal injury and blunt force trauma to the torso.
- Con Edison said a preliminary review of surveillance video showed a multi-axle truck passing over the spot roughly 12 minutes before the fall and that the manhole cover was later found about 15 feet from the opening.
- Witnesses say there were no cones or barriers when the woman exited her vehicle and bystanders and first responders made repeated rescue attempts before she was recovered, raising urgent questions from the family about why the opening lacked warnings.
- The case has focused attention on how the city and the utility secure tens of thousands of street-level manholes, with officials planning a joint probe of work permits and safety procedures and the public watching for policy or oversight changes.