Teen Dies After Fall Down Elevator Shaft in Staten Island: Police

A 16-year-old boy died after he fell down an elevator shaft in an abandoned hospital on Staten Island, police said.

Marcos Castillo, of Staten Island, was playing inside the abandoned building at 100 Castleton Avenue around 4:40 p.m. when he fell down the shaft, police said. The building is the former site of Staten Island Hospital, which closed its doors and relocated in 1979.

When police arrived they found Castillo with head injuries. An investigation determined that he had fallen seven stories to the ground below. He was rushed in serious condition to Richmond University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, according to police.

The family of the Curtis High School sophomore described Castillo as a quiet kid. His father, Jorge Rivera, said he was always home after school, and that they grew concerned Friday when he didn't arrive in a timely fashion.

Police then showed up at their door and said there had been some sort of accident and they needed to come to the hospital.

Now, the family is calling on the city to do something about the building. They're also questioning what happened.

"Was he pushed? He was an agile boy," said Rivera, in Spanish.
 

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