'Woman killed in freak NYC elevator accident'

December 14, 2011 11:29 AM

Woman killed in freak NYC elevator accident


Emergency personnel gather outside of a building in New York where an elevator accident killed 41-year-old Suzanne Hart, inset, Dec. 14, 2011. (CBS/AP/Facebook)

(CBS/AP)

NEW YORK - An advertising executive was killed in a freak elevator mishap Wednesday at a Madison Avenue office building, police and fire officials said.

The accident happened at around 10 a.m. in a 26-story office tower near Grand Central Terminal that has been the longtime home of advertising agency Y&R, formerly known as Young & Rubicam.

The New York Times identified the victim as 41-year-old Y&R executive Suzanne Hart.

Officials said Hart was stepping onto the elevator on the first floor when either her foot or leg became caught in the closing doors. The car then rose abruptly, dragging her body into the shaft and killing her, officials said.

The elevator then became stuck between the first and second floors. Two people who were on the elevator were taken to a hospital to be evaluated for psychological trauma but weren't physically injured, Fire Department officials said.

Investigators with the fire department, the police department and the city's buildings department were on the scene in midtown Manhattan.

A spokeswoman for Y&R, which announced just days ago that it planned to vacate the building for a new headquarters, confirmed that there had been a fatality but said she couldn't yet provide additional information.

According to her LinkedIn profile, Hart was the Director of New Business, Content and Experience at Y&R, where she had worked since 2007. She was a 1988 graduate of Palos Verdes High School in Calif. and she earned a BA in Fine Art and International Relations from Knox College.

There have reportedly been elevator violations in the building, but it's unclear from when or from which of the building's elevators, CBS New York reports.

The company is among a number of tenants in the building.

Officials initially said they thought the elevator had fallen two floors.