A man was crushed to death by a lift in front of horrified neighbours at a luxury apartment in New York 'after its safety circuit was tampered with.'

Sam Waisbren, 30, desperately tried to claw himself to safety after the lift plunged from the lobby just as he was walking out at around 8am yesterday.

Horrifying footage shows him crushed between the top of the lift and floor as it dropped into the shaft - leaving five other people trapped inside.

Residents said the lifts in the luxury block - where a one-bed costs around £3,000 a month - were "scary" and always going wrong.

And a lift safety expert has claimed it looks like the tragedy was down to human error, believing that someone tampered with the elevator safety circuit while potentially trying to fix it.

CCTV from the lobby of the 23-story Manhattan Promenade tower shows a woman standing in front of the lift as a man with a black backpack emerges.

Sam Waisbren, 30, died after getting crushed by a lift in a luxury apartment block in New York (
Image:
Facebook)
Horrifying footage shows him crushed between the top of the lift and floor as it dropped into the shaft - leaving five other people trapped inside

The man spins around as soon as he is out as the lift falls from his feet.

Mr Waisbren was inches behind him and can be seen desperately trying to pull himself forward as the lift gives away underneath.

At seeing what has happened the woman recoils in horror and runs away and the man with the backpack screams and put his hand over his mouth.

A building worker, who saw the incident but did not want to be named, told the New York Post : “The guy literally was trying to climb out onto the floor while the elevator was still [moving down]. It’s awful.

“His initial reaction was to put his arm out . . . so he could get off.

“At that point, the elevator took him down. Jumping out [of] the car while it’s still moving, you just don’t want to do it.”

Emergency crews, including FDNY fire fighters raced to the scene and managed to free the five people trapped in the lift
Residents said the lifts in the luxury block - where a one-bed costs around £3,000 a month - were "scary" and always going wrong (
Image:
Google Maps)

Emergency crews, including FDNY fire fighters raced to the scene and managed to free the five people trapped in the lift, but nothing could be done to save Mr Waisbrun.

Mr Waisbren's devastated father, Charles Waisbren described his son as a "wonderful man" who was "loved by everybody."

He said he had left their family home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to settle down in the Big Apple, where he worked in software sales.

After viewing the video several times lift-safety expert Kevin Doherty said it look to him like “somebody (had manipulated) the elevator safety circuit in the elevator machine room” to troubleshoot the elevator.

He added: "Elevator controllers/computers are designed to prevent motion of the elevator when either the inside car door or the outside hoistway door is in the open position.

Fire fighters at the scene as they desperately tried to rescue people trapped in the lift with Sam Waisburn's body (
Image:
FDNY/Twitter)

“In order for this event to occur, you would have to have a number of mechanical and electrical failures occur simultaneously, barring human intervention.”

He said the odds of that happening were “almost incalculable, adding: “The first guy was lucky to get out. He has no idea how lucky he is.”

The city’s Department of Buildings(DOB) said the killer elevator had not been the subject of any formal complaints over the past decade, but the building’s other lift was shut down over safety issues months ago.

Sam Waisbren's (centre) devastated father, Charles Waisbren described his son as a "wonderful man" who was "loved by everybody" (
Image:
Facebook)

A public report following a formal inspection of that lift on May 29 stated the door zone restrictor - a safety device - had been tampered with.

The DOB issued a cease-use order after the inspection, but the building’s management company, ATA Enterprises, satisfied city inspectors and got the order lifted by May 31.

That elevator had been taken out of service Wednesday night because it kept getting stuck, according to residents.

Resident Dayna Sargen, 39: “It’s sadly not shocking and sad that it wasn’t addressed sooner.

A resident, who did not want to be named, said the lifts were 'like something out of a horror film' and were always jumping between floors (
Image:
Google Maps)

"A life could have been saved. It shouldn’t have to take someone dying to have a management company realise there’s an issue with our elevators.”

A resident, who did not want to be named, said the lifts were 'like something out of a horror film' and were always jumping between floors.

Mr Waisbren’s father agreed, adding: "The elevator was always in disarray, and they’re paying a gazillion dollars in rent every month - [The] least the building could do is provide safety.”

ATA did not respond to multiple requests for comment.