Suicide? Woman plunges to her death from Hyatt 54th floor bar after making phone call at Times Square hotel may have accidentally fallen to her death.
A Queens woman reported to have plunged to her death from a 54th floor Times Square rooftop bar in a suicide bid may have instead have fallen by accident, sources now say.
The unidentified 26 year-old, who is from Hollis, fell to her death from Bar 54 at the Hyatt Centric on Wednesday afternoon, with her death initially reported as a suicide.
But sources have since told the New York Post that the circumstances of her death may be different.
They said staff at the bar also tried in vain to grab the woman moments before she fell 27 floors and landed on a ledge on the skyscraper hotel.
Other eyewitnesses told police the woman was ‘seen jumping’ to her death around 3:30pm Wednesday.
Woman ‘seen jumping’ to death from rooftop bar in Times Square https://t.co/puJDObY9S1 #breakingnews
— Get Hyped News Network (@gethypedllc) October 13, 2022
Who was she trying to call?
She was seen making a phone call, before climbing onto a piece of furniture, then jumping over the side of the terrace.
A Hyatt staffer told the New York Daily News: ‘She walked right by me and I didn’t think anything of it. She was a young girl with a reservation for the bar.’
Explaining what happened next, the worker added: ‘It’s easy (to jump) because the tables and chairs are right near the glass.
‘She didn’t say anything.
‘Everybody came running saying, ‘She jumped! She jumped!’ At first I thought they were playing.
‘The woman cleaning on the 27th floor heard the crash and found her body on the balcony,’ the worker told the Daily News: ‘We’re lucky she didn’t land on the sidewalk. It’s crazy.’
‘Perched above the bright lights of Times Square,’ the bar is further described as New York City’s ‘highest open-air hotel rooftop bar’ on the hotel’s website.
The 26-year-old woman was “seen jumping” from the 54th-floor bar of the Hyatt Centric Times Square New York just before 3:30 p.m., according to the NYPD.
She plummeted 27 floors and landed on a 27th-floor balcony below, cops said. https://t.co/z2zUCc0Fum pic.twitter.com/XxIJeffYae
— Holy Troller (@IscoPar5) October 13, 2022
Mental health crises
The incident happened just before the bar had opened its doors. It remained unclear who the woman purportedly made the phone call to and what may have been said.
According to the hotel’s website, Bar 54 is open Sunday through Thursday from 4pm to midnight.
Emergency services found the 26-year-old woman unresponsive and unconscious on the balcony and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Her official cause of death will be determined by the city medical examiner. It remained unclear if the woman was suffering mental health issues.
Police have not said if the woman was a guest at the hotel or visiting the bar, which requires reservations. Standard rooms at the Hyatt location cost upwards of $600 a night.
‘Soak in stunning river-to-river views of the Chrysler Building and lower Manhattan from 54 floors up at New York City’s highest open-air hotel rooftop bar,’ reads the hotel’s website.
‘Perched above the bright lights of Times Square, Bar 54 is an unforgettable location featuring chic, intimate indoor space and an expansive outdoor terrace – perfect for enjoying delicious craft cocktails, fine wines and light gourmet fare.’
The bar was closed for the rest of yesterday, according to a hotel employee.
A spokesperson for the NYPD confirmed yesterday’s narrative of events.
In a statement, Hyatt Hotels Corporation General Manager Tom Blundell said: ‘We are deeply saddened by the situation that occurred this afternoon at our hotel and our thoughts go out to the individual’s family and those who have been affected.
‘We are working closely with local authorities and all inquiries should be directed to the New York Police Department.’