Baby Dead, Mom Hurt in Fall Down NYC Elevator Shaft

They plunged down shaft after doors opened
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 14, 2016 5:29 AM CDT
Baby Dies When Stroller Falls Down Elevator Shaft
Sad.   (Pixabay)

A 6-week-old baby died in a horrific accident Thursday in a New York City building where there had been dozens of complaints about faulty elevators. Police say baby Areej Ali's mother was waiting for the elevator in the Brooklyn building Thursday morning when the doors opened, only for her and the stroller to plunge down the shaft, the AP reports. The baby girl's mother, who was injured in the fall, told investigators that she had stepped forward without realizing that there was no elevator behind the doors. The New York Daily News reports that mother and baby fell several feet onto the roof of an elevator, which then plummeted around eight stories.

The baby was pronounced dead at Coney Island Hospital. The Daily News reports that there have been at least 20 complaints about the 23-story building's elevators in the last two years alone, and a mechanic was working on them at the time of the accident. Residents say they are shocked by the little girl's death—but not overly surprised to learn that the building's elevators were involved. "My heart is really bleeding for them," a resident and mother of four tells the New York Post. "This always happens in this building. They come in to fix the elevator and a week later it's broken again. I have a 2-year-old. I have to look out for him." (More New York City stories.)

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