Crane Fatally Crushes Worker at Midtown Construction Site View Full Caption

MIDTOWN — A flatbed truck crane fatally crushed the owner of a construction company at a site for a high-rise hotel shortly before noon on East 44th Street, officials said Friday.

Trevor Loftus, 40, the owner of Kenry Construction, was unloading construction material from the truck when a mechanical failure caused the crane atop the vehicle to fall onto him about 11:44 a.m. at 219 East 44th Street between Second and Third avenues, officials said.

"The hydraulics malfunctioned and the victim was caught between the knuckle boom and the flatbed itself. When we came on the scene, he was trapped in there," said FDNY Deputy Chief Joseph Carlsen at the construction site for the luxury Even Hotel.

"The only thing we do know is he was killed between the boom [crane] and the apparatus itself," Carlsen said.

The fire fighters were able to raise the boom with jacks and take him out, the chief said.

Loftus was pronounced dead on scene.

Fernando Bajana, who works at a garage nearby, saw a man trapped under the crane soon after the deadly accident.

"I didn't see him moving," said Bajana, 52.

The truck involved in the fatal malfunction belonged to Loftus' company, which was issued a work permit on March 3 for the site, according to Department of Building records.

"We are all devastated," said Mark Russell, a friend who had worked for Loftus for ten years. "He was a family man, happily married, he had two young kids."

Russel said Loftus lived with his family in Yonkers and came to the U.S. from Ireland around 15 years ago.

The building at the site has risen to 23 stories but is slated to reach 36 floors when it's completed. A stop-work order has been issued for the site, officials said.

"It's important to know that this was an accident that did not relate to the stability of the building. It related to the work on the truck," Councilman Dan Garodnick said.

The Department of Buildings had issued two partial stop work orders and received a series of complaints for the hotel site prior to the accident, according to records.

The site also had a complaint on March 16 for endangering workers and several for after-hours work, that were all dismissed by the DOB.

Federal investigators found multiple "serious" violations against Kenry Contracting Inc. at two other construction sites in Brooklyn and Manhattan, records show. The company was fined more than $20,000 for the infractions, which occurred in 2011 and 2014.

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration and the Department of Buildings are investigating the accident, a spokesman said.

A spokeswoman for Kenry said the company did not wish to comment.

A spokeswoman for the The InterContinental Hotels Group, which operates the Even Hotel, expressed condolences for the family of the deceased but declined to comment further on the incident, deferring to the NYPD and FDNY.

With reporting by Nicholas Rizzi.