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A New York model hugged her mother goodbye and seemed ‘happy’ just three hours before she plunged to her death from a 54th floor Times Square rooftop bar.
Elizabeth Gaglewski, 26, had reserved a table at the Hyatt Centric’s bar in midtown and ordered a drink before reportedly climbing over a barrier as horrified staff tried to stop her.
Police are investigating if the ‘sweet and kind’ girl jumped or if her death was an accident after she landed on a 27th floor balcony on Wednesday.
Friends said that Elizabeth had seemed ‘happy’ before leaving the family home in Queens, but that she had previously ‘struggled with depression‘.
She had a conversation with her widowed mother, Hope, three hours before she left for the bar and the family had ‘no idea’ that anything was wrong.
Her boyfriend, David, has paid tribute to her as the ‘most beautiful person in the world that ever lived.’
Speaking to DailyMail.com he said: ‘The system failed her. She needed help and she didn’t get it.’
Elizabeth Gaglewski, 26, hugged her mother Hope, left, hours before she plunged to her death from a 54th floor rooftop bar in Manhattan
The aspiring model had seemed ‘happy’ before leaving the family home in Queens, with relatives having ‘no idea’ anything was wrong
Police are investigating if the ‘sweet and kind’ girl jumped or if her death was an accident after she landed on a 27th floor balcony on Wednesday
Friends told DailyMail.com that Elizabeth had seemed ‘happy’ before leaving the family home in Queens, but that she had previously ‘struggled with depression’
Neighbour Sony Beauville said: ‘She is a friend of my family. Her mum told me before she left that she hugged her and that they spoke.
‘She told her that she looked good, and everything sounded fine. No one was worried about her, or thought anything was wrong.
‘Only forensics can tell if it was an accident. We don’t know. She had been sick some time before, and probably had depression.’
He added that Gaglewski had been working for her aunt’s modelling business, but that work was slow.
Family members have described her as a ‘good person, a sweet and loving, caring kid’, with her mother Hope sharing a touching photo of the pair of them online.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for the model, with pals saying she was ‘adored by all that crossed her path’.
It described her death as ‘a shock’ to everyone who knew her, adding that it comes after her father passed away during the pandemic.
Her father passed away during the pandemic, with the aspiring models death coming as a ‘shock’ to her family
Elizabeth, pictured with herm other as a toddler, was seen making a phone call, before climbing onto a piece of furniture, then jumping over the side of the terrace.
Onlookers were horrified to see Gaglewski jump from a Times Square rooftop bar. The 26-year-old landed on a balcony 27 floors below and was pronounced dead on the scene. Medical examiners are seen removing the woman’s body
Staff at the bar tried in vain to grab Gaglewski before she fell 27 floors, and landed on a ledge on the skyscraper hotel
Staff at the bar tried in vain to grab Gaglewski 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 on Wednesday.
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. We’re lucky she didn’t land on the sidewalk. It’s crazy.’
The bar is described as being ‘perched above the bright lights of Times Square.’
Gaglewski jumped from Hyatt Centric’s 54th floor roof top bar in Times Square
The balcony where the Gaglewski, 26, fell to her death at Bar 54 on Wednesday
Eyewitnesses told police the woman was ‘seen jumping’ to her death around 3:30pm Wednesday
The horrifying incident happened just before 3.30pm, with emergency services finding the 26-year-old Gaglewski unresponsive and unconscious on the balcony. Pictured: Hyatt Centric hotel
On the website, it is termed New York City’s ‘highest open-air hotel rooftop bar’.
Emergency services found her 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.
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, with the bar closing for the rest of Wednesday, according to a hotel employee.
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.’
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