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Family sues Con Edison over woman’s fatal fall into Midtown manhole
By
Samantha Max
Published Jul 17, 2026
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Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images
By
Samantha Max
Published Jul 17, 2026
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Con Edison should have done more to secure the area around a Midtown Manhattan manhole that a woman fell into, causing her death, her family said in a lawsuit filed this week.
Donike Gocaj, 56, dropped into a manhole near the intersection of East 52nd Street and Fifth Avenue in May. She fell about 10 feet underground and died from scald burns, heat inhalation and blunt force trauma, according to the medical examiner’s office.
Gocaj’s death shocked New Yorkers in its seeming randomness and brutality.
Her son, Armando Gocaj, and her domestic partner, Jashar “Jack” Kameraj said in their lawsuit that the utility company disregarded her life by failing to safely cover the manhole. They said Con Edison knew its manhole covers could become dislodged and failed to properly seal the gap.
“They want answers. They want prevention,” said Diana Carnemolla, an attorney representing Gocaj’s family.
A Con Edison spokesperson said in a statement that the company extends its condolences to Gocaj’s loved ones but cannot comment on specific allegations while the lawsuit is pending. In May, a spokesperson told Gothamist a “multi-axle truck” had driven over the manhole and dislodged the cover about 12 minutes before Gocaj parked her car and fell inside.
The lawsuit alleges that Con Edison had received complaints about the condition of the manhole cover. But on May 18, when Gocaj plummeted underground, the manhole wasn’t barricaded, and there were no cones, signs or other safeguards to keep people away, the lawsuit states.
Gocaj’s partner was with her when she fell and heard her screaming, “I’m dying! I’m dying!” according to the civil complaint. Carnemolla said Kameraj and bystanders tried to create a “human chain” to pull her out, without success. There was no way to climb down and get her, the attorney said.
“She knew she was dying for all that time, however long it was,” Carnemolla said. “She was well aware of it.”
Gocaj’s loved ones are seeking an unspecific amount of money to compensate for her death and the effects of the loss. Kameraj is also seeking relief for the anguish of witnessing what happened and “desperately” attempting to save his domestic partner.
”They do not want her suffering to be in vain,” Carnemolla said. “They want to make certain that something is done, that Con Edison owns the responsibility to what happened and then makes change, so that no other family suffers like they're suffering.”
Tagged
manhattan
public safety
Samantha Max
Samantha reports on whether New Yorkers feel safe and whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them are working. Before coming to WNYC/Gothamist, she spent three years covering the criminal justice system in Tennessee for Nashville Public Radio. Her reporting on Nashville's police department received multiple awards, including the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. Samantha was also part of the inaugural class of Report for America, a service journalism program that sends up-and-coming reporters to local newsrooms across the country. She is a Northwestern University grad, a Baltimore native and fluent in Spanish. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal: samanthamaxwnyc.93.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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