NEW YORK -- A 25-year-old man was called a hero after he died while helping a woman escape from a falling elevator, CBS New York reports.
The man got stuck in the elevator on the third floor at a building on the Lower East Side just before midnight, police said.
He was crushed by the elevator after he pushed a woman to safety when the car began to fall, CBS New York station WINS-AM reports.
Alex from the Bronx knew the victim and described what happened.
"Basically there was a woman in the elevator and her son. The elevator started falling really, really slow," she said. "They stepped out, and he stepped out, and when he stepped out, the elevator just came down, and it just crushed him."
Witness Manuel Coronado told the Daily News that the man "said 'Happy New Year' and pushed her out."
When police arrived, they found him unconscious and unresponsive with severe body trauma. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The building has a history of violations with the Department of Buildings, including one from November, CBS New York station WCBS-TV reports.
One resident named Alberto said there have been issues in the past with the elevator.
"We always get stuck," he said. "It just gets stuck or the door doesn't want to open."
Another woman who has lived in the building for 30 years said the elevators are notorious for problems.
"Especially that particular elevator has been out of service for the last couple of weeks, like on and off, and it was taking people on joy rides," she told CBS New York station WCBS-AM.
The building is run by Wavecrest Management, WINS-AM reports. No one was available to comment.
The investigation is ongoing.
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