Authorities are investigating after a 37-year-old man was found dead in a luxury Brooklyn building, wedged between the elevator and a floor.
The door of the elevator at the building on Hope Street in Williamsburg was open when the man, identified as Eran Modan of Queens, was found unconscious early Friday with trauma to his head and torso, authorities said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said it appears the elevator had jolted down with the doors still open; Modan tried to climb out and he was crushed by the elevator car.
City building inspectors on the scene had few answers.
"It's still under investigation. It's possible the elevator was overloaded," said Rick Chandler of Department of Buildings.
People who live in the building are stunned.
"It's just really surprising for us," one woman said. "My roommates just rode the elevator 15 minutes before it happened so it's really scary."
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Resident Sara O'Neill said, "Our lives depend on these technologies being safe."
The building is relatively new; there were no outstanding construction projects and no work going on with the elevator, authorities say. But Department of Buildings records show three separate complaints in 2012 about the elevator opening halfway or jerking up and down.
Officials say the man's death appears to be a tragic accident. The investigation is ongoing.
