A 25-year-old man is being called a hero after reportedly pushing a woman out of a falling elevator before falling to his own death on New Year’s Eve. The elevator fell and crushed the man as residents looked on in horror and repeatedly dialed 911 for help. Given the nature of the night, it took a long time for that help to arrive.
The man, according to the NY Daily News, has been identified as Stephen Hewett-Brown and he was attempting to get out of the stalled elevator about 11:30 p.m. when it began to move. The building is located on Broome Street in Manhattan.
Another resident, Manuel Coronado, said he attempted to help Hewett-Brown get out of the elevator, but that he was trapped between the elevator and a door and could not move. Coronado said that Hewett-Brown told him to leave him where he was, but was also complaining of being unable to breathe.
Earlier, Hewett-Brown entered the elevator and another resident, Erude Sanches, 43, also attempted the enter. The elevator began to move and Hewett-Brown pushed her out of the way, saying, “Happy New Year.” Shortly thereafter the elevator fell down the shaft.
For the woman rescued, it was a bit of purse chance that Hewett-Brown was even in there. The young man did not live in the building, but had shown up there to visit friends attending a New Year’s Eve party.
Residents told the Daily News that they repeatedly dialed 911, but that it took 20 to 30 minutes for police and ambulances to arrive. Hewett-Brown was extricated from the elevator and taken to New York Hospital just before midnight. He was listed as being in “traumatic arrest” and did not survive.
The building reportedly has outstanding safety violations, all of them for elevator issues. Some of these violations go back to 2014.
