Worker who lost fingers describes industrial accident

Manuel Rosario hands were crushed in an industrial accident at a Garden City aerospace company. (June 18, 2010) Credit: Photo by John Dunn
A worker who lost seven fingers and part of an eighth in an industrial accident at a Garden City aerospace company said Friday that the machine he was working on slammed shut before he could pull his hands away.
Manuel Rosario, 53, of Westbury, who now has just two thumbs and part of his right pinkie, said he was feeding pieces of aluminum into a punching press Wednesday at the Hughes-Treitler facility when it slammed shut.
"I'm not angry," Rosario said, speaking from his hospital bed at Nassau University Medical Center, his hands wrapped in bandages and propped up on foam pillows. "I know my hands are no good, but what can I do? Nothing. You have to be strong and take care of what happened to you."
Rosario said he has worked on the machine for 12 or 13 years. He said he and his boss are the only people at the company who work on that machine.
A spokesman for Ametek Inc., the Pennsylvania parent company of Hughes-Treitler, confirmed an accident at the facility, which he said primarily manufactures heat exchangers for the aerospace industry. "There was an incident, I can confirm that," spokesman Bill Burke said, "but I can't confirm any of the details." Burke said privacy laws prohibited him from commenting further.
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating, a spokesman said Thursday.
Rosario said he has worked at Hughes-Treitler for 25 years. He said he emigrated from the Dominican Republic in 1981. Three of his daughters live on Long Island; his wife and a fourth daughter are in the Dominican Republic.
Rosario's co-worker Julio Burgos, 57, of Uniondale, visited Rosario in the hospital Friday evening. He said he ran to help his friend when he heard the machine shuddering. "When I heard the machine shaking like that, I ran to help him. I saw him at the table holding his hands. I tried to get a wrap to cover the hands," Burgos said.
In his 26 years at the company, Burgos said, he never has seen anyone injured. Workers are in shock, he said. "People don't talk," he said. "People cry."
According to a report from Nassau police, the worker was injured at 12:58 p.m. Wednesday at Hughes-Treitler, 300 Endo Blvd.
OSHA determines what safety standards apply and whether the company followed them, spokesman Ted Fitzgerald said.By federal law, the investigation must be completed in six months, he said.
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