New York man crushed to death by elevator at apartment building

(CNN) — A 30-year-old man was crushed to death Thursday by an elevator at a New York high-rise, police said.

The man was pinned by the elevator between the basement and first floor of a building on Third Avenue on the East Side of Manhattan, said Det. Sophia Mason, a police spokeswoman.

Emergency medical personnel pronounced the man dead at the scene after a 911 call, Mason said.

The man appeared to have been leaving the elevator at the first floor when it plunged and pinned him between floors, police said.

The man was identified as Samuel Charles Waisbren, the New York Police Department said in a statement. The medical examiner’s office is working to determine the cause of death.

The city’s Department of Buildings was investigating and “will take all appropriate enforcement actions,” the agency said in a statement. Inspectors responded to the scene.

“Elevators are the safest form of travel in New York, due to the city’s stringent inspection and safety requirements,” the statement said. “We’re determined to find out what went wrong at this building and seek ways to prevent incidents like this in the future.”

Charles Waisbren, the deceased’s father, was devastated at his son’s death, CNN affiliate WPIX reported.

“I’m so sad, you know, he won’t be able to father a child and have a family, and grow up and enjoy life,” Waisbren said. “You know, we’re just devastated.”

The building, known as Manhattan Promenade, is listed online as a 23-story luxury rental in the Kips Bay section of Manhattan.

There was no immediate comment from the property manager.

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