US family seeks answers after fatal fall into open Manhattan manhole
Summary
A 56-year-old woman named Donike Gocaj died after falling into an open maintenance hole on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The hole was left uncovered, and officials are investigating why it was open and how the cover came to be missing.Key Facts
- Donike Gocaj parked her car and stepped out onto an open maintenance hole on Fifth Avenue, causing her to fall about 10 feet.
- She went into cardiac arrest due to steam after the fall and later died in the hospital.
- The maintenance hole cover was found around 15 feet away from the hole.
- Con Edison, the city’s electric utility, is investigating whether a truck dislodged the cover.
- New York’s Department of Environmental Protection has received over 700 reports of missing maintenance hole covers this year.
- Open maintenance holes cause relatively few injuries but remain a safety problem in cities.
- Past incidents have led to safety regulations, but maintenance holes still cause accidents.
- A study found that 20 to 49 people a year in the U.S. fall into maintenance holes, with about 1% dying from their injuries.
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