Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Family Mourns Victim of Shea Escalator Fall
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 17, 2008
Modified Apr 17, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 17, 2008
Modified Apr 17, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The pregnant wife of the man who fell from a Shea Stadium escalator to his death spoke to reporters outside her Brooklyn home. Antonio Narainasami, said his wife Ambeeka, was "a great father.... He had so much to look forward to."
Newsday reported 14-year-old daughter Emily showed reporters a photograph of her father. Emily, along with her 8-year-old sister and other relatives, saw her father fall and said, "Either he went to turn around to tell me something or to make sure we were behind him, and he just slipped. We screamed for help, me and my uncle."
However, investigators say the 36-year-old was actually "perched on a rail moments before he died," based on witness accounts. A police source told the Post, "Eyewitnesses said he was sitting on the railing and trying to slide down. It looks like he just lost his balance." But his widow, who was at home during the incident, said, "I don't think he would be sliding down on anything."
The escalators at Shea are "customarily turned off in the seventh inning to encourage fans to leave via the long walkways," an official told the Daily News. (Per Newsday, the Yankees say their ramps and escalators are available after the games.) The incident is being investigated not only by the Mets, the City Parks Department and NYPD, but also the US Consumer Product Safety Commission for possible escalator malfunction.
The escalator Narainsami fell from is expected to be in use during today's game, though another escalator he fell onto will likely be closed for repairs.
Tagged
escalator fall
mets
parks department
shea stadium
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Holy civics! NYC schools' own comic books in the spotlight at Comic Con
Comic Con continues through Sunday.
By
Jessica Gould
Published Oct 10, 2026 at 8:00 a.m. ET
What we know about the ICE shooting in NYC
A federal immigration agent shot a Dominican immigrant in the neck in Marble Hill Thursday night.
By
Karen Yi
News
What we know about the ICE shooting in NYC
A federal immigration agent shot a Dominican immigrant in the neck in Marble Hill Thursday night.
By
Karen Yi
DSA to Mamdani: Fire NYPD commissioner if ICE doesn't leave NYC
By
Elizabeth Kim
,
Brigid Bergin
and
Ben Feuerherd
Two people killed in Bronx vehicle crash
By
Kaya Laterman
NY will opt in Trump’s school choice program, Hochul says
By
Jon Campbell
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .