Howell iron worker
killed by fallen piling
By carolyn o’connell
Staff Writer
LONG BRANCH — An iron worker from Howell lost his life in a construction site accident last week.
Greg Larsen, 35, was pulled from a stream in Elberon on Feb. 4 after he was struck in the head by a steel piling while working on the construction of the Wood-gate bridge shortly before noon, according to Long Branch Police Department Lt. Bruce Johangten.
Johangten said the crane which moved the steel piling may have malfunctioned, allowing a cable to slip and setting the piling free to fall vertically.
According to witnesses who spoke with police, several co-workers who heard the piling fall scrambled to get out of the way, but Larsen was not able to get out of the way in time.
"The piling was transported vertically, and when it fell, it was like a tree falling on him (Larsen), knocking him off the bridge falling 8 to 10 feet before falling into the water which is approximately waist deep," said Johangten.
The first officers to arrive at the scene were Robert Korn, Joseph Graziano and Sgt. Jason Roebuck.
They found Larsen in the water being aided by co-workers who were supporting his neck until emergency medical services and the Long Branch Fire Department water rescue arrived.
When the Elberon First Aid Squad responded, Johangten noted, that Larsen was still breathing but unresponsive.
Larsen was transported to the Jersey Shore Medical Center Trauma Unit, Neptune, and died at about 9:35 p.m. after surgery due to blunt trauma to the head, said Johangten.
According to Johangten, this is not the first tragedy to strike the Larsen family.
Thor Larsen, Greg’s brother, lost his life in a similar tragedy almost two years ago in February while he was on the job as an iron worker in South Brunswick.
Paul Larsen, also a brother to Greg, had been working at the Woodgate bridge construction project just two weeks ago.
Johangten said the accident will be investigated by the Long Branch Police Department Detective Unit, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Adminis-tration and an independent company hired by E. Sambol Corp., Toms River.