A 25-year-old man wished “Happy New Year” to a woman
just before he saved her life by shoving her from a faulty
elevator that suddenly took a plunge, but the brave act cost
him his own life.

Stephen Hewett-Brown, 25,
(left) was in the crowded
elevator at 131 Broome St.
on Manhattan’s Lower East
Side when Erudi Sanchez, 43,
(right) who lives in the
building, ste​​pped inside
around 11:45 p.m. with her
10-year-old nephew to throw
out trash.

“When I got into the
elevator, I felt it dropping and I thought my feet
would get caught in the gap but the man pushed me
out and said, ‘Happy New Year,’” Sanchez told The
Post on Friday in Spanish.

But suddenly, the malfunctioning elevator dropped farther
and Brown’s body was caught between it and the third
floor, Sanchez said.
“I saw he was trapped and the elevator was crushing
him. It was awful,” she said.
The woman’s son-in-law Emanuel Coronado, 23,
desperately tried to pull Brown out, but it was too late.

“I feel bad I couldn’t save him. I tried to pull him out
but the weight of the elevator was too heavy,” said
Coronado, who was still shaken up by the horrific
accident.
He said a woman in the elevator who appeared to be with
Brown was in hysterics as she witnessed him being
mangled.
“She was crying. He was saying, ‘I can’t breathe.
Please help me,’” Coronado recalled. “To me, he is a
hero. My mother-in-law might not be alive right
now.”

A witness told The Post that Hewett-Brown and the other
people in the elevator​, except for Sanchez,​ were dressed up
and headed to a New Year’s Eve party on the 15th floor.
FDNY officials said a 911 call​ came in​ at 11:54 p.m. — and
emergency responders were on the scene just five minutes
later.
“It was a tragic call, a very unfortunate incident,”
said an FDNY spokesman.

Sanchez was grateful for Brown’s selfless last act.
“He did a very valiant act to save me. We want to
thank him and his family and pray that God gives
them peace and comfort. It’s something I’ll never
forget,” she said.
The traumatized woman also said the building is known to
have issues with the elevators.
“They don’t do a good job repairing them. Two
months ago we got stuck inside and had to press the
alarm button and were rescued after 15 minutes,”
she said.

Numerous complaints about elevators at the building have
been filed with the city Department of Buildings​, some as
recently as June 22, according to records.
Meanwhile, friends and family of Brown were in mourning
Friday at his Eastchester home.
“I’m grieving my son. We don’t want to say
anything,” Brown’s mom told reporters at their
Eastchester home.
Brown — who went by the nickname​name StevOD —
frequently posted his own written and recorded rap songs
on SoundCloud and was working on an EP album, according
to social media.
Ejiro Omenih, 22, said he wasn’t surprised to hear of his
close pal’s heroic act.
“That’s the kind of heart he had. He’s always been
like that, very responsible, caring about other
people,” said Omenih through tears.
“He’s the head of the family. He has been the
breadwinner for years, taking care of his
grandmother, his mother, younger sister and a
younger brother, Chris.”

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