A heroic man saved a woman from a falling lift, saying “Happy New Year” as he pushed her to safety. Stephen Hewett-Brown was fatally crushed in the tragedy. Stephen Hewett-Brown (25) was trying to escape a stalled lift in an apartment building in Manhattan at around 11.30pm yesterday.
Witness Manuel Coronado said Hewett-Brown pushed resident Erude Sanchez (43) out of the lift before it fell down the shaft, taking him with it. “She started going in, but the elevator started going down and he pushed her out. He said ‘Happy New Year’ and pushed her out.” Coronado said.
The young hero didn’t live in the 26-story building but had come from the Bronx to attend a New Year’s Eve party. Coronado said he and other residents desperately dialled 911, but help didn’t come for 20 to 30 minutes.
The young man was rushed to New York Hospital in “traumatic arrest” at 11.54pm but he passed away shortly after. The building has three active city Buildings Department violations, all for lift defects and all dating to May 30, 2014.