NEW YORK — An elevator mechanic has been charged with negligent homicide in connection with a man’s death in New York City two years ago.

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Peter Milatz, 67, was charged after his apprentice mechanic, Joseph Rosa, 25, was killed at a building in the Bronx on Feb. 18, 2021, according to The Associated Press. Milatz and Rosa were working on updating the elevator when it plunged six stories, crushing Rosa to death.

Prosecutors claim that Milatz and Rosa were working on replacing the ropes between the elevator cabin and the counterweight. According to the AP, Milatz had Rosa go down the pit which was located near the bottom of the shaft.

The elevator car fell while Rosa was at the bottom of the shaft, according to The New York Times.

Prosecutors claim that Milatz didn’t follow safety procedures before or while they were trying to update the elevator, according to the newspaper.

Prior to the incident, Milatz reportedly removed a safety feature that is set up to trigger the braking system in the elevator called the governor, the AP reported. The replacement did not fit. Prosecutors claim Milatz ended up not putting the old governor back and worked on the elevator without it at all.

“A worker was fatally crushed by a free-falling elevator because his supervisor, an experienced mechanic, failed to follow the most basic safety protocols,” said Jocelyn Strauber, the Department of Investigation commissioner, in a statement obtained by the Times.“This senseless tragedy was entirely preventable.”