A 29-year-old woman from New Jersey was pronounced dead in hospital after she fell over an escalator while trying to save her sister’s hat.
The incident happened on the morning of Feb. 11 as Jenny Santos, 29, was on an escalator inside the World Trade Center transit hub, which is also known as the Oculus.
Santos and her twin sister were on their way home when a hat belonging to Santos’ sister fell over the side of the escalator.
According to CBS News, Santos went to save the hat, however she reached over too far, lost her balance and fell about 30 feet to the marble floor below.
A co-worker of Santos said he’s shocked by what happened.
“It’s just hard to even believe this,” said Brian Conybeare to CBS. “Just yesterday she was with us, Jenny was coaching our team.”
Santos worked as a coach with Conybeare at Bergen County Rowing Academy in New Jersey.
“I can’t believe this went so wrong,” Conybeare added as he described Santos as a “gentle, caring, loving person” who was “always ready to help.”
Visitors to the World Trade Center expressed their condolences, and opinion about the safety of the escalator.
“It had to be horrible for her sister standing right there,” said one woman to CBS.
“I think that they need to build the walls a little higher when they build these escalators, because the same thing happened at Shea Stadium when they rebuilt Shea Stadium,” said another woman to CBS. “The walls are not high enough to prevent tragic accidents like what happened today.”
Police continue to investigate.
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