A construction worker who feared the dangers of the job — and often predicted “I am not going to survive” — was killed Tuesday in a forklift accident at a Queens site, authorities and relatives said.
Edgar Pazmino was riding oš»n the back of the machinery as it was being driven by another worker at the construction site on 89th Avenue near 150th Street in Jamaica.
As the men were transporting windows to storage in the property’s garage just before 11 a.m., the driver failed to lower the forklift, causing Pazmino, 35, to hit his head on a low ceiling, fall to the ground and become pinned by the vehicle, officials said.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Lilia Teresa, a food vendor who works outside the Jamaica site, said she heard sudden commź¦otion and looked over to see Pazmino on the ground.
“His friend was hugging him, screaming, yelling,” she said. “I was screaming, ‘Call the ambulance! Call the ambulance.'”
The victim was working for Wš estside Windows, where he had been employed for nearly a year after he moź¦ved from Ecuador two years ago, his family said.
His brother-in-law, who asked to remain anonymous, said Pazmino spoke openly aboutā the dangers of his job and often said he feared his work would kill him.
āHe always said, ‘One of these days, I am not going to survive,'” he recalled.
The brother-in-law became emotional as he remembered how just days prior, Pazmino told him: “This job has me crazy. I want to leave.”
The construction site is ąµ²under an active stop work order, though it does not ban workers from storing items at the location, a Department of Buį©į©į©į©į©į©ā¤ā¤ā¤ā¤į©ā¤ā¤ā¤ā¤į©ā¤ā¤ā¤ā¤į©š±į©į©į©ildings spokesperson said.
The property accrued four stop work orders in 2017, though all have since been resolą¼ŗved.
In September, an order was issued after concrete-covered plywood caved in, caź©²using a worker to fall from the eighth to the seventh floor.
In December, a stop work order was issued for “failure to safeguard all persons and properties,” according to building records.
The property had garnered more than 50 active violations, inš¦¹ź§cluding five for working without a permit. The property owners owe more than $67,000 in violations, the spokesperson said.
NY Developers and Management šInc., the general contractor for the site, declined to comment on the matter.
A maš“nager with Westside Windows & Doors Inc. was not immediately available for comment.