Mount Sinai cemetery worker killed when grave collapses on him, police say

A cemetery employee working at the bottom of a grave Thursday morning in Mount Sinai died after it collapsed, burying him in mounds of dirt, Suffolk police said.

Rodwin Allicock, 42, of Coram, was working inside the 7-foot-deep grave in Washington Memorial Park about 8:30 a.m. when it gave way, police said.

Police said he was "leveling out the bottom of a grave" at the time of the collapse. Allicock's co-workers unsuccessfully tried to dig him out.

Police, firefighters and other emergency workers responded to a 911 call from the Canal Street cemetery. But Allicock was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene by a physician assistant from the Suffolk medical examiner, authorities said.

Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad detectives and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating.

Among those responding were officers from the Suffolk police Emergency Service Section, the county's Fire Rescue coordinators and public works department, along with firefighters from the Middle Island, Selden, Setauket and Hagerman fire departments.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”