Toddler dies in NYC elevator accident

A 4 year old boy died after falling in an elevator shaft inside a luxury NYC garage. According to the police, Jack Roberts slipped through a 10 inch gap between a freight elevator and the shaft at the Park Slope Garage Condominium in Brooklyn, NYC. For some unknown reason, the toddler and his parents were allowed to use a freight elevator that was meant for vehicles to get to the third floor of the garage. Other owners of parking spaces who learned about the elevator accident were in shock.  They said it was very unusual for the staff to allow anyone in the freight elevator.  Car owners usually pick up and drop their car in a designated area at the entrance of the garage. Then the staff takes care of taking them in and out of their respective parking spaces using the freight elevators.

After the accident happened, The Department of Buildings filed a complaint requesting an investigation.

The luxury garage was one the first “condominiums for cars” in New York State with more than 100 parking spaces. The actual price of a parking space there is estimated at $300,000.  The initial price for a parking space at the garage when it opened in 1986 was $29,000. At the time it was already considered a very high price. It went up over the years as Park Slope  developed into a trendy neighborhood.  It recently shot up after another similar condominium garage located nearby closed.

The toddler fell 50 feet down from the third floor and was still alive just after the accident. He was transported to the hospital in critical condition. He later died from his injuries. In front of the garage located at 841 Union Street, residents of Park Slope started to drop bouquets of flowers in front of the building. Jack Roberts was a cute and lovely blond toddler. Everybody knew him and loved him in the neighborhood.

Read more in the New York Times

Picture of the Garage Building courtesy of Google map