NYC Elevator Shaft Death: Faulty Elevators to Blame, or Was 20-Year-Old Trying to 'Surf' the Metal Cars?
An NYC elevator shaft death has the residents of a Bronx public housing development shocked and in mourning. Tito Morales, 20, was found crushed between the wall and the elevator car at about 4 a.m. Monday morning and died shortly thereafter, according to reports.
Tito "Beboo" Morales had been visiting his girlfriend in the Adams Houses building but left to get cigarettes when the grisly accident occurred. Authorities found him unconscious while stuck between the 18th and 19th floors and managed to free him, but he died before emergency workers could arrive.
"My sister saw everything," 24-year-old Joanna Sanchez, the victim's girlfriend, told The New York Post. "She said it was horrible. She saw his body dangling. When the elevator went up, he flew up and then he fell."
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Sanchez claims that Morales had climbed atop the elevator car because it had gotten stuck— a problem building residents have corroborated.
"[The elevators] are crazy. They're not safe," 22-year-old Evangelita Presinal, who grew up with Morales, explained. "They always get stuck. I got stuck like three times."
"The doors wouldn't open and the elevators would ride up," said Davis Lamont, another resident. "I was just sorry that someone lost their life dealing with the elevator."
While some blame the faulty elevators, others claim that Morales had been playing a dangerous "roller coaster" game and "surfing" the elevator cars when he lost his footing. The source told Sky News that the tattoo artist had been trying to jump from one car to the other but misjudged the distance.
A medical examiner is currently determining the cause of the young man's death. Investigators are still trying to piece together how Morales entered the elevator shaft in the first place, according to reports.
