Worker Dies In Fall At Tunnel Project: 'Hardest Worker You'd Meet,' Says Levittown Daughter

By Michael Mashburn From Daily Voice

A 52-year-old Long Island construction worker fell to his death while working on the massive Gateway Tunnel project beneath the Hudson River.

Jorge Sanchez, of Levittown, NY, was working on a newly poured concrete wall when he fell about 50 feet into a pit at the Manhattan jobsite on Thursday morning, Oct. 23, according to FDNY officials.

Emergency crews were called around 8:50 a.m. and arrived within three minutes. Firefighters climbed into the pit, began CPR, and hoisted Sanchez out using a rescue basket. He was transferred to the hospital in critical condition but later died.

The exact cause of the fall remains under investigation. FDNY officials said Sanchez was wearing a harness when he fell.

The Gateway Tunnel project is a $16.1 billion effort to build new rail tunnels beneath the Hudson River connecting New York and New Jersey. Sanchez, an immigrant from Honduras, worked for New York Concrete Company.

His best friend and co-worker, Nery Rodas, told "Gothamist that Sanchez had been putting in extreme hours as managers pressed crews to make up for delays. He recalled one recent weekend where Sanchez worked 35 hours straight. 

“They always tell us, we’re being behind schedule, being behind schedule,” Rodas told the outlet. “We’re humans working all those crazy hours that we work .. The body gets tired.”

Family members described Sanchez as a devoted husband and father. His daughter, Gloria, organized a GoFundMe to help the family, writing: “He was not just another person, not another construction worker. He was a father, a husband, a friend … the hardest worker you would ever meet and come home with the biggest smile on his face.”

Mike Power, an OSHA instructor and fellow carpenter with Local 157, told Gothamist there could have been an issue with Sanchez’s harness. “Bad things happen to good people,” he told the outlet. “It could happen to any of us.”

Officials from the Gateway Development Commission, which oversees the project, referred questions to Amtrak. Daily Voice has reached out for comment.

Those who wish to support Sanchez’s family can donate via GoFundMe here.