Worker severely injured at Great Neck construction site

A delivery driver working at a construction site on East Shore Road in Great Neck was severely injured Tuesday morning when he was pinned under a tipped forklift, according to a fire official and the project's contractor.

The 52-year-old man, who was not identified, suffered crushing injuries to his chest and left arm, and Vigilant Fire Company of Great Neck transported him in stable condition to North Shore University Hospital, said Scott MacDonald, Vigilant’s chief of department.

The site, at 365 East Shore Rd., is a residential development where crews recently began excavation and foundation work on a four-story, 64-unit luxury apartment building. Great Neck-based Villadom Corp. is developing the project on the former site of a village sewer plant, Newsday previously reported.

Vigilant received a 911 call at about 9:06 a.m. and arrived at 9:10. First responders used a piece of construction equipment to lift the forklift off the man and move him into an ambulance minutes later, MacDonald said. He said the man was offloading materials when the incident occurred.

Others responding agencies included Great Neck Alert Fire Company and the Nassau County Police Department.

Manhattan-based Triton Construction, the general contractor for the project, told Newsday it would cooperate with all agencies reviewing the incident, and village Building Department and federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials visited the site Tuesday. The firm has managed millions of square feet of construction projects in the New York metropolitan area, from skyscrapers to Long Island school buildings. 

"The safety and well-being of everyone on our sites is our top priority, and our thoughts are with the individual involved," Lance Franklin, Triton's co-CEO, said in an email. 

The incident showed the potential danger on construction sites in New York State. A report published last year found the rate of worker fatalities rose 8% to 10.4 per 100,000 workers in 2023, with 74 construction worker deaths statewide, according to the latest data from the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health. The membership organization includes workers’ rights groups, unions and community organizations.

In September, a 56-year-old worker died at a Baldwin construction site when he was crushed between a tractor trailer and a forklift, Newsday previously reported.

By Jonathan LaMantia

jonathan.lamantia@newsday.com@jonlamantia

Jonathan LaMantia covers residential real estate and other business news on Long Island. He previously covered the business of health care for Crain's New York Business.