Shirley man dies in fall from construction site in Orient, cops say

A 39-year-old Shirley man died Wednesday after falling from a rooftop at a residential construction site in Orient, Southold Town police said.

Officers and a crew from the Orient Fire Department responded to the scene on Orchard Street just before 9 a.m. Wednesday, police said, to find Salomon Cruz-Jimenez unconscious, not breathing and with no pulse. Police said responders initiated CPR and took Cruz-Jimenez to Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport, where he was pronounced dead.

Police investigators estimate Cruz-Jimenez fell about 13 feet.

Police said Friday that the incident was deemed accidental and that the case has been turned over to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for any further investigation. Additional details were not immediately available.

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.”