Queens sanitation worker fatally struck on job after slipping under truck

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Shocked family members hugged each other, grappling with the devastating loss, ABC News 7 reports.

Richard Errico, 54, was tragically killed when he fell from the cab and was crushed under the wheels of a 65,000-pound sanitation truck, according to officials.

Errico was on duty and working alone at the time of the incident, which occurred just before 6 p.m. on Saturday as he attempted a U-turn near the Sanitation Department's Queens East Garage.

The exact cause of Errico's fall remains unclear, but sanitation workers often leave the cab doors open due to frequently getting in and out of the trucks.

City Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch offered her condolences to the grieving family before briefing Mayor Eric Adams, who came to the scene to meet with relatives and receive an update on the investigation.

"Our department mourns the loss of Sanitation Worker Richard Errico," Tisch said in a statement. "He was a 19-year veteran who proudly served the communities of Douglaston, Little Neck, and Bayside as one of the Strongest. I ask all New Yorkers to keep his family in their prayers." Adams echoed these sentiments.

The NYPD's Collision Investigation Squad is handling the investigation, as is standard procedure. While sanitation work is inherently dangerous, the last line-of-duty fatality in the department occurred in 2014.

 

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