Authorities investigating the fatal fall of a New York hedge fund executive from an Atlantic City shopping center escalator say that the incident was an "accident." NJ resident James Vellanti had been on an escalator at the Pier Shops at Caesars on Saturday when he somehow fell. The Press of Atlantic City reports, "The escalator from which Vellanti fell travels from the third to the second floor. Frank Gilbert Jr., of Galloway Township, fell from the same one in August 2008, after witnesses said he sat on the handrail."
Fatal Atlantic City Escalator Fall An "Accident"
Hedge Fund Exec Dies In Atlantic City Escalator Fall
A NJ man fell to his death from an escalator at Atlantic City's Pier at Caesars shopping center. According to the Press of Atlantic City, the victim, James Vellanti, was "chief operating officer for the hedge fund JNF Asset Management LLC in New York." The police are investigating the incident, which is the second fatal fall there in 13 months (last year, a 25-year-old man was sitting on the moving escalator's handrail and fell to his death).
Mets Sued Over Fatal Escalator Fall
The widow of a Brooklyn man who died when he fall off an escalator last year is suing the Mets. 36-year-old Antonio Narainasami plunged 30 feet to his death when an escalator stopped suddenly at the Mets' old home. The lawsuit says that the escalator jerked, sending him over the railing and complains that it was "too steep, poorly maintained and needed higher railings." At the time of the accident last April, there was some speculation as to whether or not Narainasami was trying to slide down the rails when he fell. It was also customary for escalators at Shea to turn off in the seventh inning of games. The lawsuit filed in Queens Supreme Court by Ambeeka Narainasami also names the city and the elevator companies, Brink and Otis, as co-defendants. A lawyer for the city said, "We will review the case thoroughly, especially in a tragic case like this."
Shea Stadium Escalator Fall Victim in Critical Condition
The 26-year-old man who fell from a Shea Stadium escalator on Saturday night is still listed in critical condition. The Post reports that Justin Larson, a medical school student, is "breathing with the aid of a ventilator" at NY Hospital Queens, with broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and bruising on his brain. Mets officials and the NYPD are investigating the fall (after a man's fatal fall from the Shea escalators in April, a U.S. Product Safety Commission investigation was opened), but Larson's friends said he had been "goofing off" by sitting on the handrail of a non-working escalator. His parents are on their way from Missouri now.
Family Mourns Victim of Shea Escalator Fall
The pregnant wife of the man who fell from a Shea Stadium escalator to his death spoke to reporters outside her Brooklyn home. Antonio Narainasami, said his wife Ambeeka, was "a great father.... He had so much to look forward to."

