The 54-year-old man with developmental disabilities who fell to his death during a group trip to a New York mall Thursday lost his balance and fell off the side of an escalator, police said Friday.
Police have described the fall as a "tragic accident."
The man, who lived in New York Foundling’s group home in Rockland County, was riding up the escalator between the third and fourth floors at The Palisades Center Mall in West Nyack with his back to the railing when he lost his balance, Clarkstown detectives say.
Police say as the man stumbled, the upward motion of the hand railing’s belt continued to push his body off the side of the escalator, causing him to plummet to his death.
A group home staff member who was with the man and three other residents tried to grab the man to stop him from falling to no avail.
The New York Foundling said it was "deeply saddened" by the man's death.
"The safety of the individuals in our care is paramount, and we are doing everything we can to help determine what led to this terrible accident," the group home said in a statement.
The Palisades mall is the largest shopping mall in the New York metropolitan area.
