Carl Declercq, 63, of Richmond Hill, Queens, was riding down on the elevators at 5 Times Square at 4:30 p.m. when a malfunction launched the elevator upward.
The freight car slammed into the shaft's 37th-floor bulkhead and immediately killed Declercq, who was alone in the car.
"The car shot to the top floor. It went up and hit with a tremendous force," said FDNY Deputy Chief Joseph Saccente.
Officials said the elevator went out of control as it passed an ascending car near the 19th floor.
That elevator shook around then snapped to a halt, causing minor injuries to two passengers inside.
They both declined medical attention.
Investigators are now checking what caused the tragic accident.
Officials said that it may have been a snapped cable or a failed balancing mechanism.
"I saw him just five minutes before it happened," said Robert McKenzie, a co-worker At Pro Quest Security. "I was just in that elevator.
"It could have been any one of us," said a stunned McKenzie.
"He was a cheerful guy. He just joked around all the time," he said.
The crashing elevator sent shards of metal and glass plummeting down the shaft and sent vibrations through the building.
A number of people made nervous 911 calls when they felt the rumbling.
"It was scary. It was very loud," said Elia Gonzalez, who was working in an Ernst & Young office on the fourth floor.
"The floor shook. It was like an earthquake," she said.
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who keeps an office for his consulting firm, Giuliani Partners LLC, in the building, was seen being escorted out after the accident.
A spokesman for the Department of Buildings said there are 43 "devices" in the building, which include passenger and freight elevators along with escalators.
Ten of those devices were issued violations in May, but it was not known if the fateful elevator had been cited.
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