Police: Carbon monoxide poisoning may have caused death of Flanders man
A 30-year-old construction worker from Flanders is dead after suffering apparent carbon monoxide poisoning at a site in Fort Salonga Tuesday, according to Suffolk County police.
Officials said Victor Irizarry, an employee of Suffolk Excavating, was working to remove silt from the bottom of a drainage pipe 10 feet into the ground at 92 Fort Salonga Road when he stopped responding to coworkers around 2:35 p.m.
He had been working in the pipe for approximately 15 minutes, police said.
A coworker attempted to enter the pipe to rescue Mr. Irizarry, but felt burning in his nose and throat and had to exit.
Firefighters from the Kings Park Fire Department responded to the site and pulled Mr. Irizarry from the pipe. He was then transported to St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown, where he was pronounced dead.
Police said “dangerously high” levels of carbon monoxide levels were detected in the pipe by firefighters. County police detectives and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are investigating the incident.
