An indie-band drummer from Brooklyn fell to his death today after trying to leap from a freight elevator at a tony Williamsburg fund-raiser, police said.
Jerry Fuchs, 34, who drummed for West Coast dance-punk band !!! (pronounced "chk chk chk") and the Georgia-based psychedelic instrumental ensemble Maserati, tumbled five stories shortly after 12:30 a.m. inside 338 Berry St., cops said.
"It's a manual freight elevator, and it stopped somewhere above the fifth floor," said Buildings Department spokesman Tony Sclafani.
Sources said Fuchs and his pal opened the elevator door and attempted to jump the 3 to 4 feet separating the elevator from the fifth floor.
The friend landed safely, but a piece of Fuchs' clothing caught on the elevator, causing him to be yanked backward as he jumped, sending him swinging back into the crevice separating the elevator from the fifth floor.
He fell and landed at the bottom of the shaft. He was rushed to Bellevue Hospital, where he died at 3:30 a.m.
The drummer had been attending a formal-dress, invite-only benefit to raise money for women in India, sources said.
Fuchs is the second Maserati drummer to meet a tragic end. In 2005, then-drummer Mikel Gius was run down and killed as he rode his bike on a Sacramento street.
