Witness of NY grandma who died after falling into open manhole describes horrific scene

Authorities have confirmed the identity of the woman who fell into an open manhole and died in New York City, also sharing their theory about what happened in the minutes before the tragic fall.

Donike Gocaj, 56, from Briarcliff Manor in Westchester County has been identified by multiple outlets as the woman who sadly died during the mid Manhattan incident yesterday, after stepping out of her car and falling down the open manhole.

According to ABC 7, Gocaj, who often went by 'Donika' had two children and two grandchildren, with whom her social media shows her celebrating a number of birthdays, weddings, and vacations with.

But her life ended on Fifth Avenue after she stepped out of her Mercedes-Benz SUV and fell 10 foot down an uncovered energy company manhole, at around 11.19pm on Monday, May 18, according to the NYPD. Witnesses have described a horrifying scene.

The manhole that Donike Gocaj fell into was 10ft deep and full of hot steam (Getty Stock)

One person who saw the fatal fall while on their way to work told ABC that the woman 'took one step forward and just disappeared'.

"She was screaming, 'I'm dying,' that's what I kept hearing her screaming over and over," the witness told the outlet. "She wasn't distracted, she didn't walk onto a construction site, I mean, she parked her car, stepped out of her car and dropped right into the manhole."

The outlet reports that the steam inside the manhole had likely caused the woman to go into cardiac arrest. Compounding this, while it took only a couple of minutes for first responders to arrive, it took them 20 minutes to extract her from the hole.

According to the New York Times, a number of passersby attempted to save Gocaj after she fell, with some rushing to find a ladder and one man even lowering himself into the hole in the hopes that the grandma could grab a hold of him.

Although Gocaj was immediately rushed to hospital, she she was pronounced dead. People reports that the manhole belongs to NYC energy company Con Edison, which has provided an explanation for why the 10ft hole had been left uncovered.

The incident took place on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue (Getty Stock)

Con Edison say they will 'continue to investigate' what took place on Monday night, but have offered their preliminary understanding about what caused Gocaj's death.

They said: "We have reviewed video footage from the area, which suggests that the cover was dislodged after a multi-axle truck turning onto 52nd Street from 5th Avenue drove over it."

Con Edison's statement continued: "Approximately 12 minutes later, the person involved in the incident parked her car nearby.

"We are reviewing the details, and while this is a rare occurrence, manhole covers can get displaced by heavy vehicles. Our thoughts remain with her family, and safety remains our top priority.”

The office of Mayor Mamdani said in a statement: "Our condolences are with the family of the woman who lost her life in this devastating incident. City agencies are working with Con Ed to support the emergency response and conduct a full investigation into what occurred. Every question must be asked and answered so that no New Yorker experiences a tragedy like this again."