71-Year-Old Man Dead After Plunging Down Elevator Shaft in Pennsylvania

A 71-year-old Pennsylvania man fell to his death this week down an elevator shaft at a business where he worked, authorities said.

The 911 call came in just before 3:54 p.m. local time at Andy's Equipment Exchange, the Erie Times-News reported 

Igor Akopyan died of multiple blunt force trauma from the fall on Tuesday, May 13, the Erie County Coroner's Office told the Erie Times-News and ABC affiliate WJET-TV. 

He was described as a "longtime" employee of the new and used restaurant equipment seller, according to reports. 

PEOPLE has reached out to the coroner's office and the company for comments. 

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Coroner Lyell Cook told WICU/WSEE that the victim plunged two stories through an open elevator shaft and died instantly. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 5:04 p.m. 

"[The] elevator doors were open but the car was one floor above and for whatever reason he fell down into the elevator shaft and dropped two stories," Cook told the outlet.

Akopyan reportedly had a key to open the elevator door, but investigators are looking into how the incident happened. The death has been ruled an accident, per WJET-TV. 

What caused the elevator not to be on his floor remains unclear at this time.

“He opened the door to the elevator, assuming it was there, and it wasn’t,” Deputy Coroner John Maloney told the Erie Times-News.