A parking garage attendant drove a car down five floors into an empty automobile elevator shaft this morning on the Upper East Side — and miracolously survived!
New York firefighters rushed to the East 76th Street garage, between First and Second Avenues, and rescued Steven Morales, who was trapped inside the smashed up car, officials said.
He and a second man, also injured in the crash, are expected to be OK.
“A guy drove into an empty elevator shaft,” said Ronnie Hanerfeld, 58, who lives in the neighborhood. “The elevator wasn’t there, he went all the way down.”
Firefighters remove a vehicle that fell five floors down an elevator shaft. (@FDNY via Twitter)
The mangled Lexus SUV after it was pulled from the building. (@FDNY via Twitter)
It took 45 minutes for emergency crews to pull Morales out of the car to safety, authorities said.
“He’s awake, it looks like he’s going to be ok,” said a firefighter at the scene. “It was pretty scary.”
Morales, a GMC Parking attendant, was loading a black Lexus 350, with New Jersey plates, into the elevator at 9:43 a.m., officials said.
The luxury SUV was on the fifth floor of a six-story garage shared with Hertz, when it came crashing down, officials said.
Angel Rosa, who was in the elevator car on the first floor, had to be fished out by Hertz employees.
“It felt like it was a bomb,” Rosa said of the scary crash. “I felt the impact when the car came down”
Rosa said he “absolutely” feels lucky to be alive.
“It is just a freak accident that occurred. These things happen,” said Fred Alston, president and business agent of Garage Employees Union that represents both employees injured today.
“It could have been a gas peddle could have stuck or something to that effect but these guys are professionals. It is not a game with them. They are moving $50,$60, $70,000 vehicles with ease so this was just a freak accident.”
The FDNY’s Twitter page showed a picture of the mangled Lexus SUV after it was pulled from the building.
Neighbor Vince Daniels, 44, said he spotted one injured attendant, who was conscious and speaking with rescuers.
“It was a crazy scene,” said Daniels. “They [paramedics] were assessing one of the attendants but he didn’t look too bad — just shaken up.”
The black Lexus SUV was badly damaged with smashed windows. It was yanked out of shaft upside down.
“This building is going to give birth to a car,” said one FDNY official as the flipped SUV was being slowly removed.
“It is believed that he [the attendant driving the car] was bringing a car out, approached the elevator, from there what happened I don’t know. The car originated from the fifth floor and wound up here on top of elevator car on the ground level.”
Both Morales and Rosa were taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital in stable condition, according to the FDNY. Rosa was treated and released.
Additional reporting by Amelia Harris, David K. Li and Dan Mangan