A woman who fell into an open Con Edison manhole in Midtown earlier this week died from heat injuries and blunt force trauma, city medical examiners said Thursday.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined Donike Gocaj, 56, died of “scald burns with inhalational thermal injury and blunt force trauma of [the] torso,” according to a spokesperson.
The office ruled her manner of death an accident.
Gocaj died after falling about 10 feet down the manhole near Fifth Avenue and East 52nd Street on Monday night, police said.
NYPD officials said she had just gotten out of her parked car when she plunged into the opening, and no construction was happening in the intersection at the time.
First responders called to the scene around 11:15 p.m. found Gocaj unconscious. She was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Con Ed did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Thursday about Gocaj’s cause of death and the status of the utility company’s investigation into the incident.
The company previously said video footage indicated a “multi-axle truck” had dislodged the manhole cover about 12 minutes before Gocaj parked her car on the street. Spokespeople described the incident as a “rare occurrence.”