Bay Shore worker’s hand caught in meat grinder, cops say

A grocery store worker got his hand caught in a meat grinder Tuesday, and police officers dismantled the machine at a hospital to help save his hand, Suffolk police said.

Bilal Hussein, 24, of Bay Shore, was working at Halal Meat and Grocery in Bay Shore when the accident happened about 2 p.m., police said.

Suffolk Police Officers Walter Justincic and Carmine Pellegrino of the Emergency Service Section detached the commercial grinder from a table and rushed to the hospital, police said.

They and Police Officer Danny Coan scrubbed down to enter the surgery room and helped doctors to sterilize the machine, police said. Using various tools to take apart the machine, they freed Hussein’s hand so surgeons could reattach it, police said.

Police said the injury was not life-threatening, but a police spokeswoman said it was unclear late Tuesday whether Hussein’s hand was saved.

The Islip Town Fire Marshal and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration were notified, police said.