Man Crushed to Death by Runaway Garbage Truck on Long Island: Police

A 55-year-old Long Island, New York, man was killed when his garbage truck started rolling as he stepped out of it to pick up trash containers, authorities said.

Homicide investigators initially responded to the scene on Northern Boulevard in Rosyln after they got a report about an unidentified dead man on the street around 6 a.m. Their investigation determined Rudolph Skakel's death was not criminal, but the result of a tragic accident.

Police say Skakel, who worked for Basin Haulage, had stepped out of his 2011 Mack garbage truck to pick up trash when the vehicle started rolling down the street, unoccupied. The Uniondale man ran after the truck, jumping onto a side step on the passenger side in an effort to gain control of it.

The vehicle sideswiped a utility pole and Skakel was crushed to death, police said.

The truck was examined at the scene and released to the company that owns it. The owner of the Maspeth-based Basin Haulage said the company had no comment on Skakel's death at this time. 

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