Company fires NYC elevator mechanics

An elevator service company says it has fired five mechanics who were on duty when an advertising executive was crushed to death trying to take an elevator to her Manhattan office.

Transel Elevator Inc. announced the firings Wednesday, two days after a city report said a mechanic had overridden an important safety system before Suzanne Hart's Dec. 14 death.

The company isn't naming the five people discharged. But a city Department of Investigation report identifies five mechanics and apprentices. Their lawyers had no immediate comment.

One mechanic, Michael Hill, told investigators he overrode the safety mechanism to enable work earlier on Dec. 14. The mechanism normally prevents elevators from moving with their doors open.

Hill insisted it was back on line when Hart tried to get in the elevator.

-- AP