A woman died Monday night after falling into an open manhole in Midtown Manhattan, in a fatal accident that unfolded steps from Fifth Avenue traffic. Family members identified her Tuesday as 56-year-old Donike Gocaj of Briarcliff Manor.
Police said Gocaj parked her Mercedes Benz SUV at West 52nd and Fifth Avenue just before 11:20 p.m. and stepped out of the vehicle directly into the uncovered opening. She fell about 10 feet, was found unconscious and was rushed to New York Presbyterian Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The details make clear how quickly an ordinary stop turned deadly. Gocaj was with her two grandchildren, according to the facts provided, and no construction was underway at the location. The manhole cover was later discovered about 15 feet away from the opening, raising immediate questions about how the site was left exposed in the first place.
Con Edison said it was investigating why the manhole was uncovered. The utility said it was deeply saddened to confirm that a member of the public had died after falling into an open manhole, and said it was actively investigating how it happened, with safety its top priority.
For Gocaj’s family, the loss was sudden and final. For investigators, the unanswered question is no longer whether the manhole was open, but who left it that way and why it remained that way until she stepped out of her car.
