College student falls to death while apparently attempting to take photos at Midtown hotel

ByKala Rama, Eyewitness News WABC logo
Thursday, December 31, 2015
College student fatally falls from Midtown hotel while taking pictures
Kala Rama reports from Midtown.

NEW YORK -- Police say a young man fell to his death as he and a friend climbed outside the Four Seasons Hotel in Midtown.

Officials believe that the 20-year-old victim and his friend were just trying to take pictures.

Connor Cummings' family described him as a photography buff.

He and his 18-year-old friend were climbing scaffolding inside when he fell nine-stories down an interior shaft just after 11 p.m. Wednesday.

Cummings was pronounced dead at the scene.

His friend climbed down to get help, and now that friend is being interviewed by detectives.

Police at the scene did recover the photography equipment he was using.

The young man's aunt however feels like the whole incident doesn't add up.

"We're trying to get answers. They say that he went up the elevator, and then went up a stairway, and then went out on a balcony, but the cops aren't saying exactly what happened. And, I know the medical examiner was up there. I mean, he's a young kid, he's a good kid, they weren't drinking or anything, they were taking a picture," said Kate Gentile, the victim's aunt.

Cummings is from Rockaway, New Jersey and was attending college in Massachusetts.

Police say that Cummings and his friend were not guests at the hotel.