Car falls off NYC parking garage lift, 1 dead

NEW YORK One person is dead after a car fell off a lift at a parking garage in Lower Manhattan, according to police.

CBS Station WCBS reports the accident occurred at an Icon parking garage on Barclay Street just after 8 a.m. Monday.

Emergency workers said a parking attendant was killed when an SUV rolled off the lift and crashed six feet to the ground, crushing the worker as he was standing underneath.

Shaken family members arrived at the scene escorted by police officers, as co-workers and customers stood in disbelief.

Customers told WCBS that the victim was a warm and friendly presence at the garage.

Gerard Marini, who said he has parked at the garage every day for five years, was stunned to learn the attendant - who had become a personal friend - had been killed in a tragic accident.

"It's crazy. When I couldn't get down the block this morning to park the car, I do have his cell number on me and I was going to call him to see if there was any way he could get me into the garage later or something," Marini told WCBS correspondent Kathryn Brown.

Police have not yet released the victim's name, but many said he was a hard worker with a big heart who loved baseball.

"It's hard to believe and I thought, 'Not him,'" Omar Marinavic told WCBS correspondent Paul Murnane. "I feel for him and his family."

Investigators said it's too early to know exactly what caused the car to crash off the lift.