Complaints for open manholes dramatically doubled in NYC before Donike Gocaj died in hatch horror

Complaints about open or defective manhole covers have nearly doubled in New York City so far this year, with 714 calls to 311 since Jan. 1 compared with 374 during the same period in 2025. Last year recorded 1,025 complaints, the highest total since 2021. A fatal incident involved an uncovered Con Edison hatch where a woman fell into a roughly 10-foot-deep hole after taking only a couple steps from her vehicle. A passing truck appeared to have dislodged the cover shortly before the fall. The cover was described as a composite type that is lighter and needs to be locked and sealed to prevent displacement. The woman later died from scald burns with inhalational thermal injuries and blunt force trauma.

"714 calls were made citywide to 311 about a "defective manhole cover" or a "missing" cover since Jan. 1, while the same span in 2025 drew just 374 similar complaints, the data shows. All of last year drew 1,025 total complaints about manhole covers - the most since 2021, according to the 311 stats."

""The composite manhole covers, such as the one that appears to have been involved in this accident, are much lighter and need to be locked into place," he said. "If not, something like a truck or a vehicle going over it can cause it to displace, which appears to be what happened."

"A representative for Con Edison said Tuesday that a passing truck appeared to have dislodged the manhole's cover along East 52nd Street near Fifth Avenue less than 15 minutes before Gocaj arrived Monday night and parked along the avenue. Gocaj only took a couple steps from her Mercedes-Benz SUV before she fell into the 10-foot-deep hole, eyewitness Carl Wood said."

"ConEd crews afterward were spotted putting the manhole cover back into place, affixing it with sealant - a step that Gorayeb said is necessary for newer types of caps. The city medical examiner ruled Wednesday were scald burns that included inhalational thermal injuries from breathing in hot air or steam and blunt force trauma to her torso."

Read at New York Post