Updated: A Westchester County grandmother who stepped into an open manhole in Manhattan told a passerby she was dying.

Fire safety director Carlton Wood was on his way to work about 11:20pm on Monday when he saw Donike Gocaj, 56, fall into the open manhole after parking her Mercedes-Benz outside the Cartier flagship store.

“I saw her step out and close the door, she took one step forward and fell straight through the manhole, just disappeared into the ground,” Wood told the Daily Mail.

The incident happened at 52nd Street and Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan on Monday, May 18. Police responding to a 911 call found Gocaj unresponsive inside the manhole about 10 feet down.

Wood said Gocaj was alive and talking after she fell in.

He heard Gocaj screaming “I’m dying, I’m dying” over and over. “She was sitting down in steaming hot puddle of water with her legs forward and looking up, just begging for help,” he said.

Wood and another man attempted to pull her out after he called 911, but she was too far out of reach.

The 56-year-old woman stepped out of a car and fell into the open manhole, police say. >> https://t.co/dhhOq33OSn pic.twitter.com/uVP9VJRJwS

— CBS New York (@CBSNewYork) May 19, 2026

First responders lifted the unconscious woman out of the manhole and rushed her to New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.

The manhole was operated by Con Edison utility, police said. Con Edison workers were seen covering the hole after Gocaj was transported to the hospital.

A Con Edison spokesperson said the utility company is investigating why the hole was not covered.

“We are deeply saddened to confirm that a member of the public has died after falling into an open manhole,” a spokesperson told The New York Post.

“We are actively investigating how this occurred. Our thoughts are with the individual’s family, and safety remains our top priority.”

It’s not clear how long the manhole was uncovered or why Gocaj parked there. The Cartier store was closed at that time of night and there were no open bars nearby.