MIDTOWN — The repair company that serviced the elevator that crushed Young & Rubicam advertising executive Suzanne Hart to death at her Midtown office last year fired five of their mechanics who were on duty at the building when the accident happened, NBC New York reported Wednesday.
Transel Elevator Inc. fired the workers two days after a Department of Building's report blamed the incident at 285 Madison Ave. on human error.
The workers disabled a safety device preventing the elevator from moving when the doors were open while making repairs on Dec. 14, according to a report from the city's Department of Buildings and Department of Investigation.
Hart, 41, was killed shortly afterwards when she stepped onto the elevator and it suddenly shot upward, crushing her between the first and second floor.
The city hit the company with 23 violations for minimum penalty of $117,000.
Transel's license was also suspended waiting an administrative hearing, keeping the company from performing elevator upgrades, installations or inspections.
