A day after a developmentally disabled man fell 40 feet from an escalator at the Palisades Mall to his death, local organizations are speaking out about how the tragedy has impacted their community.

Camp Venture president John Murphy says his heart breaks for members of the developmentally disabled community he's helped nurture for decades. Many of them are devastated to learn one of their peers in another program was killed Thursday in a tragic accident.

Police say a 54-year-old Haverstraw man who was under the care of the New York Foundling Home, fell from the escalator inside the mall around 10:20 a.m. Thursday.

Today, detectives have determined that the accident occurred when the man had his back to the railing of the escalator and appeared to have lost his balance. They say the upward motion of the escalator hand rail assisted in pushing his body over the railing, causing him to fall to his death.

A representative from Camp Venture told News 12 that Thursday's accident at the mall is a perfect example of why more measures need to be put in place to protect developmentally disabled people in Rockland County and across the country.

The man who died has not yet been identified pending notification of his family.