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Construction worker dies at Barclays Center; crushed by steel beams brought for green roof (updated)

Updated 7:55 am Feb. 25

The Brooklyn Paper, in Green roof grief: Barclays ironworker crushed to death by beams, had the early details on a tragic story that emerged this afternoon:
An ironworker died on Tuesday afternoon when steel beams fell on him as he worked to install Barclays Center’s new green roof, according to a police spokesman.

The 52-year-old was an employee of a Massachusetts steel company contracted by Hunt Construction Group... The worker, a member of the Ironworkers Local 361 union, was crushed by four steel beams when they rolled off a truck before they could be attached to a crane, police said. Cops and paramedics responded at 1:33 pm and found the man lying in the loading dock on Dean Street, where he was pronounced dead, according to a report.
Greenland Forest City Partners issued a statement:
The iron worker who was killed was involved in the installation of the green roof on the arena. We are all devastated by what happened. All of us at Greenland Forest City Partners and Barclays Center extend our most heart-felt condolences to the worker's family and friends.
We are currently working with all relevant agencies to determine what caused this terrible tragedy.
While there have been some workplace injuries in construction work at Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park, this is the first death. The worker has not yet been named.

Updated: “My signal man was crushed,” said a fellow construction worker who declined to give his name, told the Daily News. “The load was top heavy, the truck driver unhooked it without being told, (and) it toppled right on top of him. I checked his pulse: he was there for half a second, and then he was gone.”

NY1 reported,
Investigators believe the victim may have accidentally hit the emergency release button causing the load to come down on him.
A piece of overall context: it may (or may not) be relevant that the cold weather has been blamed for delays in the green roof construction process.

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