Quantcast

Queens construction worker killed in forklift mishap, police say

Workers at the scene of a fatal accident at a construction site in Jamaica, Queens,  on Tuesday, March 13, 2018.
Workers at the scene of a fatal accident at a construction site in Jamaica, Queens, on Tuesday, March 13, 2018. Photo Credit: iStock

A 34-year-old Queens construction worker was killed on Tuesday after he rode on top of a forklift, police said.

The worker, Edgar Pazmino of the Bronx, was riding on top of the machinery at the construction site on 89th Avenue, near 150th Street, when the driver of the forklift put it in reverse at about 11 a.m., police said.

Pazmino hit his head on a beam by a low part of the ceiling and was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

The two workers were using the forklift to transport a bundle of windows for storage, according to the Department of Buildings (DOB).

There are five open Environmental Control Board violations on the construction site, including for working without a permit last year, according to DOB data. There were multiple active stop-work orders, including one from September for a partial collapse of the eighth floor.

According to the DOB, while the site was under an active stop-work order, it doesn’t prohibit workers from storing materials on the site. The agency issued a violation for failing to safeguard the construction site.