Babylon worker, 56, dies when water main break floods dig at Roosevelt Field

A 56-year-old construction worker from Babylon died on Friday morning after water from a broken main poured over him while he was working in a hole beneath Ring Road at Roosevelt Field, the East Garden City shopping mall, Nassau County police said.

What happened at the Roosevelt Field water main break

Police said Rafael Peralta was on the job at around 11:13 a.m. when the water surged over him. Coworkers pulled him out of the hole, and first responders worked to save him on site.

According to police, Peralta was taken to a hospital nearby, and he was declared dead there.

The Town of Hempstead said the water main sits on Roosevelt Field property. The mall had hired Peralta’s employer, a private contractor, for work on that main and on a hydrant, both privately owned.

Ring Road closed as police investigate

Police have opened an investigation into Peralta’s death. While officers worked at the site, they kept Ring Road shut for several hours on the stretch from Stewart Avenue to Zeckendorf Boulevard.

Alice Lindow, a New Yorker who was near the scene, said she was praying for Peralta’s family. Speaking of workers like him, she said, “Knowing that they went out there to provide for their families.”

A similar death happened in Westmont, Illinois, in February 2023. Matthew Heiden, a 20-year-old public works employee for the village, died when water filled an underground vault he was working in. A lawsuit filed for his estate claims the village sent him into the space without a plan, training or safety equipment. A trial judge dismissed the case, but a three-judge panel reversed that ruling in March and let the suit proceed.