Babylon home collapses with construction crew inside, officials say

A Babylon home, damaged during superstorm Sandy, collapsed Friday morning as it was being lowered from its temporary lifts, seriously injuring one worker, police and town officials said.

The home, on Copppertree Lane, was in the process of being lowered onto its newly built foundation and deck Friday at 9:15 a.m. when the rear hydraulic jack failed and the home collapsed backward, said Steve Fellman, a Babylon Village building inspector.

"The great irony is that today is the day that they were going to lower the home to make it safer," Fellman said.

A six-person male construction crew from DRG House Lifting in Freeport was working on the home at the time of the collapse, police said.

One worker, standing on the perimeter of the first floor deck, was seriously injured when his leg was crushed under a girder, Fellman said. 

He was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip, where he was being treated for a fractured leg, police said. The other five workers were not injured.

It was not immediately clear why the rear jack failed, Fellman said. The company, Fellman said, was properly licensed at the time of the accident.

DRG declined to comment on the collapse.

Village officials demolished the home Friday afternoon, he said.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which dispatched a team to the scene, has opened inspections with DRG and general contractor PCCI Corp of West Islip, which was doing framing at the home Friday, an agency spokesman said.

PCCI Corp did not respond to a request for comment.

The homeowner, Jill Wisneski, moved out during the spring so that the property, which was heavily damaged during Sandy, could be elevated, officials said.

Efforts to reach Wisneski, who purchased the home in 2011 and is now living in Florida, were not successful.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.