A woman on her way to her job at an advertising firm was crushed to death this morning in Midtown after getting pinned between floors while riding in an elevator, authorities said.
Suzanne Hart, 41, walked into the elevator at about 10 a.m. on the first floor at 285 Madison Avenue near 40th Street.
Witnesses said the elevator, with two other people aboard, started to ascend to the second floor with its doors open after Hart had taken a step halfway inside the car.
As office workers looked on in horror, the woman quickly became pinned between floors after the elevator took off before she could fully enter the car, an FDNY spokesman said.
Rescue 1 firefighters raced to the scene and extricated two people trapped inside the elevator.
They then pulled Hart out, who was pronounced dead at the scene, fire officials said.
“She was a fantastic young woman,” said her father, Alex Hart, who was flying to New York from his home in Florida today. “I’m grateful for every day I had with her I’m just sad it happened so soon … I miss her.”
Hart had just moved from Manhattan to a brownstone apartment in Brooklyn with her boyfriend, Chris Dicksen.
“She’s a beautiful person, and I don’t have words for this,” Dicksen said.
The other two victims were taken to NYU Medical Center for trauma.
The incident occurred in a 25-story building that houses the firm Young & Rubicam Brands, one of the world’s largest consumer advertising agencies, and several other companies.
The cause remains under investigation, although city records show that the building’s 13 elevators have had 56 violations cited against them.
Cops and firefighters temporarily closed off the street near the building between East 42nd and 40th streets while they conducted the investigation into what caused the accident.