Man Crushed by Cement Truck in Queens

NY Post – 2016-03-21

by Philip Messing and Amanda Woods

A man repairing a cement truck in Queens was critically injured Saturday when a jack failed and the huge vehicle fell on top of him.

The 30-year-old victim, whose name was not released, had been working in a backyard on Broad Street in Rosedale at about 6:45 p.m., fixing an axle when the truck fell, crushing him from the upper torso to his knees, authorities said.

“He was screaming in pain,” said neighbor Warren Leach. “He was screaming, ‘Get me out of here! Get me out of here! I need help!’

“We didn’t know if he was going to live or die. We were helpless. We couldn’t do anything,’’ Leach said.

The yard is about 300 feet from an inlet of Jamaica Bay and neighbors spotted a Port Authority police boat patrolling the waters around JFK Airport.

The officers aboard, Randall Kraft, Ronald Gordon and Joseph Cusumano heard the commotion and rushed to the scene.

Risking their own lives, they crawled under the truck to stabilize the victim.

When firefighters and PAPD emergency service cops arrived, the rescuers used airbags to lift the truck

The victim was rushed to Jamaica Hospital.

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