19-year sanitation vet dies on job after falling under truck in Queens

An employee of the Department of Sanitation died on Saturday after falling out of a garbage truck while on the job in Queens.

Richard Errico, a 19-year veteran of the department, fell off the truck on Douglaston Parkway in Little Neck around 6 p.m. The 54-year-old was attempting a U-turn of the garbage truck when he fell, according to an investigation by the NYPD's Highway District Collision Investigation Squad.

Errico fell out of the cab and onto the road where he was run over by the wheels of the truck, officials said.

Mayor Eric Adams released a statement, saying Errico "kept our streets and communities safe and clean." He said he met with Errico's family to offer his condolences.

The department's commissioner, Jessica Tisch, spoke highly of Errico's tenure and the way he served the Queens community "proudly."

“Tonight, our department mourns the loss of Sanitation Worker Richard Errico, a 19-year veteran who served the people of Douglaston, Littleneck, and Bayside as one of the Strongest,” Tisch said over the weekend.

"I ask all New Yorkers to pray for his family — for Carol, Brooke, Paige, and Tommy, as Mayor Adams and I did. May Richard’s memory be a blessing.”