Autopsy: Carbon monoxide fumes killed Huntington Station restaurant manager

The Suffolk medical examiner's office has ruled that carbon monoxide poisoning killed the manager of a Huntington Station Legal Sea Foods restaurant Saturday after the odorless gas leaked from a basement pipe, Suffolk police said Tuesday.

No other details of the autopsy for manager Steven Nelson, 55, of Copiague, were released, police said.

Nelson was discovered unconscious in the basement of the eatery, locked in a bathroom, according to Legal Sea Foods president and CEO Roger Berkowitz. Dozens of others were treated at local hospitals.

A faulty flue pipe attached to the heating system was the cause of the carbon monoxide leak, both police and Huntington Town officials have said.

Meanwhile, state, county and local lawmakers are calling for the passage of legislation requiring carbon monoxide detectors in commercial buildings. Currently there's no such requirement in state law.