Man Dies In Cesspool Collapse

A worker installing a cesspool at a Huntington home Wednesday afternoon was killed after the rim of a freshly dug hole collapsed, burying him beneath a large mound of dirt, Suffolk police said.

Edward Sinnott, 59, of Huntington, was pulled from the hole just before 7 p.m., police said, and pronounced dead at the scene by a physician assistant with the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s office.

Sinnott, who worked for Antorino & Sons in Huntington, and other workers, were in the front yard of the home on Beech Place at about 12:50 p.m. when the hole gave way and collapsed into itself, police said. A second worker fell into the hole but got out as the dirt poured in.

Immediately after the collapse, other members of the crew frantically tried to dig Sinnott out of the pile. First responders from several fire departments soon arrived to help.

Police blocked off several streets to traffic in the surrounding area, cordoned off the home with yellow tape, and kept gawkers safely away from the scene as efforts to save Sinnott continued.

Crews used a crane and other equipment, including a tractor-size device designed to suck up large amounts of dirt. By about 2 p.m., as many at the scene realized the likelihood Sinnott had survived faded, residents appeared visibly despondent.

“I’ve never heard of anything like this,” said Regina Sineno, 51, who lives nearby. “This is very sad.”

No one answered the phone at the Beech Place home.

A video shot at the moment the hole collapsed shows a steel crane claw hauling dirt out of the hole as the ground first gives way under Sinnott. Then another worker is shown plummeting into the cascading dirt but he grabs onto the rising claw and is pulled to safety as Sinnott disappears from view.

Police said the man was not injured.

Town of Huntington spokesman A.J. Carter said the cesspool “has rings that go into the ground and two rings were in when the worker fell into the hole and it collapsed over him and he got buried.”

Carter said the worker was directing a crane when the hole collapsed.

Responders included the Huntington and Huntington Manor fire departments, officials from the Town of Huntington, Suffolk police Second Precinct and Emergency Service Section officers, and Nassau County emergency service officers.

An official with Occupational Safety and Health Administration arrived at the scene later Wednesday and the agency will investigate the collapse.

Via: http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/officials-man-s-body-recovered-at-site-of-cesspool-collapse-in-huntington-1.13661109

Man Killed After Jumping Onto Side Of Dump Truck

A 29-year-old man died last night after police say he jumped onto the side a DOT dump truck in midtown and was subsequently knocked off and crushed under the vehicle's wheels. The incident happened around 10 p.m. when the unnamed man jumped onto the driver's side of the truck and clung to the vehicle, standing on a diesel tank foot rail as the driver headed west on 51st Street, according to police.

The driver apparently did not realize the man was clinging to the side of the truck, according to a preliminary investigation. The NYPD says the truck was rolling by a construction site on 51st Street between 8th Avenue and Broadway, "which contained concrete barriers with metal fencing attached. As the truck passed the concrete barriers, the victim's backpack became entangled with the metal fence causing the victim to fall to the ground where he was run over by the truck's rear tires."

EMS responded and pronounced the man dead at the scene. The NY Post interviewed a witness who offered more details about the grisly incident:

The unidentified victim was seen moments before the fatal accident getting into an argument with the truck driver as he tried to cross into the path of the oncoming vehicle as it headed westbound on 51st Street at Broadway, according to a witness.

“Him and the driver had words. Basically they was right there [51st street] and [victim] just put his hand up like ‘I’m crossing here,’ and they had attitude going back and forth,” said the witness who asked to remain anonymous.

After the brief spat, the truck kept driving. But the man ran after the truck, climbed on to the driver’s side and tried to hold on before realizing he didn’t have enough room to clear a construction fence on the south side of 51st Street.

He then made a desperate bid to dismount the 14-wheeler, only to be dragged under and killed, according to police sources.

The driver remained at the location and has not been charged, but police say the investigation is ongoing.

A DOT spokesperson said the truck was carting asphalt to a nearby paving job.

Via: http://gothamist.com/2017/05/23/midtown_dump_truck_death.php

Big Game Hunter Crushed by Elephant

A South African big game hunter died after being crushed by an elephant cow that had been shot on a game reserve in Zimbabwe at the weekend.

Theunis Botha, 51, was leading a hunt with clients when the group accidentally walked into the middle of a breeding herd of elephants at the Good Luck Farm near Hwange National Park late on Friday afternoon, Zimparks spokesman Mr Simukai Nyasha said.

Three of the elephant cows charged the hunters. Mr Botha fired a shot from his rifle but he was caught by surprise by a fourth cow that stormed them from the side, the Afrikaans news site Netwerk24 reported.One of the hunters shot the elephant after she lifted Botha with her trunk.The elephant then collapsed on top of Mr Botha, who has five children with his wife Carike Botha.

Mr Botha was a highly regarded houndsman and frequently led leopard and lion hunting safaris with his pack of dogs.

The website of his company Game Hounds Safaris says he pioneered traditional European-style “Monteria hunts” in southern Africa.

In Monteira hunts large packs of dogs are used to drive deer and boar towards hunters who then open fire on the animals.

Mr Botha was a specialist at hunting leopards with his big game hounds.

He would often travel to the United States to find wealthy customers to take part in trophy hunting in southern Africa.

Mr Botha’s body was taken to Hwange Colliery Hospital mortuary on Saturday.

Condolences poured from hunters, who mourned the death of a “world-class houndsman” after Mrs Botha announced her husband’s death on their joint Facebook page.

Mr Botha was close friends with Scott van Zyl, 44, who was killed by crocodiles while hunting in Zimbabwe last month.

Mr Van Zyl was on a hunt at the Chikwaraka camp in Zimbabwe when he disappeared on April 7.

His backpack was found on the banks of the Limpopo River days later.

DNA samples taken from contents found in the stomachs of two crocodiles that were shot during the search matched Mr Van Zyl.

Last year a tourist, Stephen Coetzee was trampled to death by a female elephant in Hwange National Park.

Mr Coetzee, from Bulawayo, was taking pictures of the animals when they charged.


Via: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/21/south-african-hunter-crushed-death-elephant/

Atlanta musician dies after collapsing on stage at concert

Authorities say a musician died after collapsing on stage during a birthday concert in his honor at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta.

Bruce Hampton, a 70-year-old guitarist and singer known as the "grandfather of the jamband scene," died after collapsing Monday night at the end of the show billed as "Hampton 70: A Celebration of Col. Bruce Hampton."

Dumonder Dawson, an investigator with the Fulton County Medical Examiner, said Tuesday morning that the agency was notified of Hampton's death.

The Tedeschi Trucks Band, also on the lineup, posted a statement on its official Facebook page from Hampton's family saying he had died.

After Hampton collapsed, actor Billy Bob Thornton, who was on the bill with members of Widespread Panic, Phish and other musicians, took to the microphone to thank fans and say that they had to attend to something back stage.


Via: http://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/atlanta-musician-dies-after-collapsing-on-stage-at-concert/ar-BBADcOI?li=BBnbfcL