By Michael V. Cusenza
A City Sanitation worker was killed on Saturday in Little Neck when he was thrown from the cab of a DSNY truck he was driving, causing him to be run over by the wheels of that truck.
According to the City Police Department, on Saturday around 5:45 p.m. cops responded to a 911 call of a vehicle collision within the vicinity of the Q11 and Q13 Garage on Douglaston Parkway. Upon arrival, police observed a Richard Errico, 54, unconscious and unresponsive, lying on the ground with trauma to the head and body. Errico was pronounced dead on scene by EMS.
Photo Courtesy of YouTube.com/FormerWMDriver
The employee was killed when he fell out of the cab of the DSNY truck and was run over by its front and rear wheels.
Further investigation by the NYPD’s Highway District Collision Investigation Squad determined that Errico was operating a 2018 Mack Heil City Department of Sanitation Truck and was making a U-turn from northbound to southbound Douglaston Parkway. Midway through the turn with the wheel fully deflected to the left, the operator did fall out of the cab of the vehicle and was subsequently run over by the front and rear wheels of the vehicle.
There are no arrests at this time and the investigation remains ongoing by the NYPD Highway District Collision Investigation Squad.
“Our thoughts tonight are with Richard’s family, friends, coworkers, and everyone who knew and loved him,” Mayor Eric Adams said. “I met with Richard’s family tonight and shared how deeply sorry I was for their loss. Richard kept our streets and communities safe and clean for more than 19 years, and we should all be keeping Richard and his family in our prayers. He, like 8,000 uniformed sanitation workers, went to work every day to make a difference in their communities. New York’s Strongest work tirelessly every day in incredibly difficult and physically taxing jobs. Too often, we don’t stop to thank them for all they do to make our city a better place for us all to live. Next time we see one of our trucks pass by or a sanitation worker keeping our neighborhood clean — let’s all give them the thanks and recognition they deserve.”
