Cops: Carbon monoxide poisoning suspected in Fort Salonga worker's death

A construction worker died of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning Tuesday while working on a drainage pipe in Fort Salonga, Suffolk police said.

The incident occurred as Victor Irizarry, 30, of Flanders, an employee of Suffolk Excavating in Manorville, was working at a residential job site on Fort Salonga Road, removing silt from the bottom of a drainage pipe roughly 10-feet into the ground, authorities said.

About 2:35 p.m. Irizarry stopped responding to co-workers and one attempted to go down the pipe to rescue him, according to detectives from the Fourth Squad. The co-worker soon felt a burning sensation in his nose and throat, forcing him to exit the pipe, police said.

The Kings Park Fire Department responded to the scene and discovered carbon monoxide levels to be dangerously high, authorities said.

Firefighters were eventually able to pull Irizarry from the pipe. He was taken to St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown where he was pronounced dead.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which inspects and examines workplace safety conditions, was notified and is investigating, police said.

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.