Woman Died In Stuck Midtown Shelter Elevator, City Says

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — A woman suffering a drug overdose died while trapped inside a Midtown Manhattan homeless shelter's elevator with emergency responders, city officials said.

Anna DeJesus, 60, overdosed at the New Providence Shelter on East 45th Street between Second and Third avenues on March 11, a spokeswoman from the city Department of Homeless Services spokeswoman confirmed. Dejesus was unresponsive to naloxone administered by shelter staff and EMS.

When EMS took DeJesus into a building elevator in an attempt to transport her to the hospital, the equipment broke down, trapping medics and Dejesus. The elevator was stuck for nearly an hour, and medics had to use the building's service elevator because main elevators were out of service, ABC 7 first reported.

The death was described as "a horrible confluence of unfortunate events," by a DHS spokesperson.

"Ms. Dejesus’ passing is a heartbreaking loss. We offer our deepest condolences to her family, friends, and fellow residents and will provide them with any and all support that we can during this difficult time," DHS spokeswoman Arianna Fishman said in a statement.

The operator of the shelter, a nonprofit called Project Renewal, is responsible for maintaining the site, a city Department of Homeless Services spokeswoman said. A spokesperson for the nonprofit told ABC 7 that the building's service elevator was newly-installed with city funding and that Project Renewal takes the safety of its clients seriously.

Shelter residents blamed DeJesus' death on the elevator breakdown and said that elevator repairs are often short-term fixes at the shelter.

"I feel like if the elevator did not break down, she might have been at the hospital to get help and still be alive," shelter resident Kaiola Browne told ABC 7.

The city medical examiner is still investigating DeJesus' official cause of death.