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A federal parks department employee was struck and killed in a freak accident when a payloader backed over him during storm preparations in the South Beach section of Staten Island this morning. 59-year-old Joseph Sordi, a National Park Service employee assigned to the Gateway National Recreation Area, was hit while waiting to fill his truck with salt at a Sanitation Department salt pile at 281 Father Capodanno Boulevard.
Sordi was standing beside his pickup-truck spreader when a payloader, which was loading road salt, backed over him just after 1 a.m.
Fatal Accident During Storm Preparations
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A federal parks department employee was struck and killed in a freak accident when a payloader backed over him during storm preparations in the South Beach section of Staten Island this morning. 59-year-old Joseph Sordi, a National Park Service employee assigned to the Gateway National Recreation Area, was hit while waiting to fill his truck with salt at a Sanitation Department salt pile at 281 Father Capodanno Boulevard.
Sordi was standing beside his pickup-truck spreader when a payloader, which was loading road salt, backed over him just after 1 a.m.
Officials say Sordi, of Brooklyn, was rushed to Staten Island University Hospital North and pronounced dead just before 7 a.m. of severe internal bleeding.
Authorities believe the gas pedal on the payloader, operated by a Sanitation Department employee, became stuck. The operator was unable to stop the big vehicle before it backed over Sordi.
No charges were immediately filed, and authorities believe the mishap may just be a tragic accident.
