Published on
20/05/2026 - 13:32 GMT+2
A 56-year-old woman has died after falling into an open maintenance hole on a busy street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
The victim, identified by police as Donike Gocaj of Briarcliff Manor, a New York suburb, parked her vehicle near the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 52nd Street shortly before 11:30 p.m. on Monday. According to authorities, she exited her SUV and fell into the open shaft moments later. Firefighters extracted her from the hole, but she was pronounced dead after being transported to a local hospital.
Con Edison, the local utility company, stated that surveillance footage indicates the heavy metal cover was dislodged by a multi-axle truck driving over it approximately 12 minutes before Gocaj fell.
