A 26-year-old man working at the construction site for the Ramapo baseball stadium was injured Wednesday when the construction vehicle he was driving tipped over and ejected him from the driver’s seat.
Joseph Delaney of Middletown, N.Y. was carrying a load of steel rods with the forklift-type vehicle just before noon Wednesday when the accident occurred, according to Ramapo police. Spring Hill Ambulance Corps took the construction worker to Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern.
Officials on Wednesday afternoon said Delaney’s injuries were confined mainly to the head, shoulder, femur and hip areas and described them as serious, but non-life-threatening. Ramapo police notified the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which began its own investigation into the incident.
Delaney is employed with Nikko Construction Corporation in Valley Cottage. Rich Straniere, vice president at Nikko, said the construction vehicle was thrown off balance by a tire that had sunk several inches into the muddy ground. He said Nikko’s equipment had been inspected Wednesday and no defects were found. The company was cooperating with OSHA’s investigation.
About 5 p.m., Straniere said he had just come from visiting Delaney. “He’s doing fine,” Straniere said. “He’s bruised up, he’s nervous, but there were no breaks.” Straniere anticipated that Delaney would be released from Good Samaritan later Wednesday night.
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Worker seriously injured at Ramapo baseball stadium construction site
The Journal News, James O’Rourke, November 18, 2010