Woman dies after falling into open manhole in Manhattan

NEW YORK — A 56-year-old woman died overnight after falling into an open manhole when she stepped out of her vehicle in midtown Manhattan, one of New Yorkers’ greatest fears.

The victim, Donike Gocaj, of Briarcliff Manor in Westchester County, had parked her SUV at the corner of East 52nd Street and Fifth Avenue late Monday, police said. When she stepped out, she plunged 10 feet into an uncovered utility hole in front of the Cartier Mansion.

Police responded to a 911 call from the location at 11:19 p.m. and found Gocaj unconscious and unresponsive. An ambulance took her to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.

Relatives of Gocaj could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.

Among those she left behind are a daughter, a son and two young grandsons.

On Facebook, Gocaj, who also spelled her name as Donika, was a doting figure. She often posted special milestones with her family — birthdays, baby showers, weddings and first communions — whom she traveled as far as Australia to visit.

It was unclear why the maintenance hole was open. Allan Drury, a spokesperson for Con Edison, said the utility company was investigating.

“Our thoughts are with the individual’s family, and safety remains our top priority,” he said.

Police said there were no arrests. There were no passengers in Gocaj’s vehicle, a Mercedes-Benz, and she was alone when she fell, according to police.

The city medical examiner’s office said it was investigating what caused the woman’s death.

Missing manhole covers are a common problem in New York City. The Department of Environmental Protection, which is responsible for manholes connected to the sewer system, has fielded more than 700 service requests so far this year, according to the city’s 311 call data.

Gocaj’s death recalled that of a homeless man who was found dead in a maintenance hole in 2019 two weeks after he stumbled into it.

Falling into an open hole is one of the many urban nightmares New Yorkers worry about, along with falling through grates on the street, getting pushed onto the subway tracks and getting hit by a falling air conditioner, among others.

Last year, a woman died after a garbage truck crash caused scaffolding to collapse on her.

In 2020, a 33-year-old man fell into an underground vault of rats when the sidewalk collapsed beneath him, though he survived.

And in 2022, a manhole explosion in Times Square sent hundreds of people running away in fear.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.