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Woman dies after falling into an uncovered maintenance hole in New York City

NEW YORK (AP) — A 56-year-old woman fell into an open maintenance hole on a busy New York City street and died, police and utility officials said as they investigated how it could have happened.

The woman, Donike Gocaj, parked her Mercedes-Benz SUV right next to the maintenance hole Monday night near the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan and fell in after exiting the vehicle shortly before 11:30 p.m., police said. She was pronounced dead at a local hospital after firefighters pulled her out.

The utility company Con Edison said surveillance camera footage appeared to show that the hole cover was dislodged by a multi-axle truck that drove over it about 12 minutes before the woman fell in.

“We are reviewing the details, and while this is a rare occurrence, manhole covers can get displaced by heavy vehicles. Our thoughts remain with her family, and safety remains our top priority,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.

The accident happened in an upscale shopping area that includes a Cartier store and is about four blocks from Trump Tower. Gocaj lived in Briarcliff Manor, a suburb of New York City, police said.

Carlton Wood told the New York Post that he saw the woman fall into the hole after she walked a couple of steps away from her vehicle. He said he ran over and called 911. He estimated she fell 10 to 15 feet (3 to 5 meters).

“She was just in the hole, screaming that she was dying. Over and over she was like, ‘I’m dying, I’m dying,’” said the New Jersey resident, who was walking to work at the time.

Wood said the site was not blocked off, there were no signs of work and the cover was near the hole, where it appeared very hot inside.

New Yorkers say falling into maintenance holes is among their concerns about living in the city.

“There was a couple manhole incidents nearby where I live,” said city resident Brady Metzger. “It is a big fear. I mean, I’m more scared of getting pushed into the (subway) tracks than I am of the manhole covers. But I did hear about that incident in Midtown, and yeah, it’s scary.”

Relatives of the woman told WABC-TV that they were shocked and saddened by her death, and they were seeking more information.

The city’s chief medical examiner’s office will determine the cause of death.

____

Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut.

Grandfather recovering from surgery after bison attack at Yellowstone sent him flying

By WTOP Staff
(CNN) — What started as a yearly trip for a grandfather and his grandson turned into a visit to a Montana hospital after a bison attack at Yellowstone National Park.Carl McDaniel, 65, was hospitalized with a broken femur after a bison charged and tossed him into the air Friday evening at the park’s Bridge Bay Campground, according to McDaniel and the National Park Service.He was visiting the park with his 13-year-old grandson when they decided to take a walk after dinner.Along the way, they encountered a large bison that appeared to be rolling around in the dust and was not bothering anyone, McDaniel told CNN.“We were about a hundred yards away,” McDaniel said. “He was not aggressive; he was not having problems and we took some pictures and decided to walk on.”McDaniel and his grandson snapped a quick photo and continued with their walk, video of the encounter shows. At the same time, a truck drove by, and the driver laid on his horn in what appeared to be an attempt to get the bison to move, McDaniel said. There is no audio on the video.The bison then appeared to become agitated and began running toward the pair.“There was little time to decide what to do. At that point, he was within 100 yards; he could be to us in seconds, so I told my grandson to run in one direction and I went the other to try and draw him away,” McDaniel said.The animal then pushed McDaniel with the top of its head, sending him flying into the air before he hit the ground, the grandfather said.“When I was on the ground immobile, unable to move, he was right on top of me. He could have stomped on me, he could have gored me, he could have done almost anything to take my life, and he did not do so,” McDaniel said.After McDaniel hit the ground, photographer Mike MacLeod, who captured the encounter on video, had to step in, he told Cowboy State Daily.“I was really afraid he was going to gore the guy on the ground, so I stopped videotaping and ran at the bison, yelled loud, and was trying to be as big and intimidating as possible,” MacLeod said.After the bison took off, people rushed over to McDaniel, who was in a lot of pain, MacLeod told Cowboy State Daily. Yellowstone EMS arrived soon after, he said.“Park emergency medical personnel responded and transported him to a nearby hospital,” the National Park Service said in confirming the incident in a statement to CNN.This is the second bison attack at Yellowstone this year. A 12-year-old was injured near Mud Volcano on June 26, according to the agency.After Friday’s attack, “all the people that were there were amazing; they were all positive, they were trying to help as best they could,” McDaniel said. A nurse started tending to his leg, while another bystander held his head.He was then transferred to a hospital in Bozeman, a two-hour journey during which he was in intense pain. He said he was grateful for the paramedic who helped him along the way.McDaniel broke his femur, the body’s strongest bone, in four places near his hip and suffered several bruises. He had surgery Sunday and could stand by Monday.“I will be doing physical therapy for the next few days to get to walk, but it was not as catastrophic as it could have been,” McDaniel said.The National Park Service advises visitors to stay at least 25 yards away from bison at all times and to never approach the animals. “If the bison follows you, spray bear spray as you are moving away, and seek cover behind nearby trees or cars,” the agency said.Correction: An earlier version of this story understated how far visitors should stay away from bison. The National Park Service advises visitors to stay at least 25 yards from them.The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
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