Man killed in Williamsburg in elevator accident

BROOKLYN, N.Y. (WABC) -- A man has died after an elevator malfunctioned in Williamsburg, Brooklyn killing him.

People who live there woke up early Friday morning to the sound of a man screaming.

It was 4:15 a.m. and he was trapped.

A friend says she could see what was happening to him, but there was nothing she could do.

Trapped between an elevator and the floor of an apartment building in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn was a horrifying deadly accident.

Mona Zarrin says she watched her good friend take his last breath.

She says after a night out, a group of friends came back to the Espoir Luxury Rentals apartment building on Hope Street.

They got in the elevator to head upstairs. Investigators say that's when it malfunctioned.

"We escaped from the floor, ran up the stairs, and he was still alive," Zarrin said.

The 37-year-old Israeli National was fighting for his life.

His body was shutting down; maybe it was just too late.

Zarrin says she did everything she could do.

"We tried to give him CPR give him breath, and I felt him breathing a little bit, he was fighting it, his body was out," Zarrin said. "I said keep giving him air, he's fighting it, he can do it, I mean his body was out."

The Department of Buildings says the address has had four elevator violations since 2013.

In a June of 2014 inspection, the elevator was deemed "unsatisfactory".

The violations have since been resolved. A recent inspection on September 17th concluded in a "satisfactory" rating.

The New York City Buildings Commissioner says it's possible that the elevator was overloaded.

"We see no outstanding problems with the elevator. My staff here is going to put it through its paces we're waiting for some weights to come and test it fully loaded," said Rich Chandler, the NYC Buildings Commissioner.

Eyewitness News is still waiting for the outcome of that test.

Investigators have been there all day and plan to continue their work into the night.