Worker crushed to death at Baldwin construction site, police say

A 56-year-old worker was killed on Wednesday when he was crushed between a tractor trailer and a forklift in Baldwin, Nassau police said.

The worker, who was not identified by police, was unloading pallets of building material about 4:40 p.m. at a Grand Avenue construction site when the accident took place, police said.

The victim was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead by a doctor, police said.

The Town of Hempstead confirmed the accident occurred at a construction site for a new four-story, 54-unit apartment building being built as part of the Baldwin Downtown Revitalization Project.

The site is the former home of the Cecere Funeral Home.

The town referred all further inquiries to police and to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Police have not released additional information, citing the ongoing investigation — though on Thursday police said preliminary findings are the incident is non-criminal.

In an e-mailed statement, an OSHA spokesperson said, "OSHA has opened an inspection. The agency has six months to complete its inspection. We cannot provide additional information while the investigation is ongoing."

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”