Fatality on Further Lane

Investigators are trying to determine what caused a masonry worker to fall to his death at an oceanfront construction site in East Hampton Village Tuesday morning, and whether anything could have been done to avoid the fatal accident.

Village Police Chief Gerard Larsen said Vitor Nobre, a 55-year-old Ronkonkoma business owner, fell about 12 feet onto concrete while he was working at 62 Further Lane, where, according to village records, Barry Rosenstein, a hedge fund manager, has begun building a 16,407-square-foot house with a 2,305-square-foot guest house. Number 62 was part of a record three-lot, $147 million sale that made headlines two years ago as the highest price ever paid in the United States for a residential property.

Mr. Nobre “was so good at what he did. He was so cautious,” his son, Tiago Nobre, 32, said by phone yesterday afternoon. His father, a Portuguese immigrant and a mason for more than three decades, had co-owned N-D Masonry with a friend for 16 years. He often worked on the South Fork. “He’s been working on that his whole life. He was one of the best,” his son said. “I don’t know if there wasn’t too much safety there. We have to find all this out.”

According to police, Mr. Nobre and another man were standing on the second floor, a solid concrete floor, laying down cinder block to create a wall on the edge of the open building. He was working with rebar, steel used as a tension device in reinforced concrete, Chief Larsen said. “Apparently, from what we can figure, he was trying to do something with the rebar and it snapped off. Maybe his momentum carried him off the roof.”

“Nobody actually saw him fall,” the chief said. The other man was on the opposite side, doing the same work, and did not realize Mr. Nobre had fallen until others below yelled that there had been an accident. The chief said there were about 65 construction workers employed at the 18-acre property at the time.

Mr. Nobre’s son said his father’s workers tried to help him right away, “but it was too late.” Police received a 911 call at 8:43 a.m.

The East Hampton Village Ambulance Association called for the Suffolk Police medevac helicopter to transport the man to Stony Brook University Hospital, the nearest level-one trauma center, but it was unable to fly due to the foggy weather. He was taken to Southampton Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. 

His father’s partner broke the news to Tiago Nobre, who said his family was distraught. In addition to his son, Mr. Nobre is survived by a 28-year-old daughter, Carla LaPuglia; his wife of 30 years, Gina, and two grandsons, ages 2 years and 8 months.

Mr. Nobre left Portugal in 1981 for a better life in America, and settled in Ronkonkoma, near a small Portuguese community in Farmingville. “He was a great man. Adored by many. Never had any problems with anybody. Everybody liked him,” his son said. He described his father as an “old-school European,” a hard worker who loved what he did and taught his son, who worked by his side for 10 years before striking out on his own, the business.

“It is awful. The victim is only 55 years old,” Chief Larsen said. Construction-site accidents and falls do happen often, he said, but they usually result in a broken bone or two.

Detective Steven Sheades said Mr. Nobre fell onto his head, suffering major trauma. “We have 12-foot falls all the time. The fall was not out of the ordinary. The fact that he landed on his head on the concrete is what did it.”

Detectives are trying to locate surveillance footage. “There are cameras. We’re not really sure if they would have captured it. We’re not sure which way the lens was facing,” the chief said. “So far there’s been nothing to point to any criminality. We’re still investigating. We still want to look at the video. We still want to talk to anyone who might have seen it. But it looks like it was a terrible accident.”

At the request of the homeowner, Mr. Rosenstein, the general contractor, identified by police as Bulgin & Associates, a high-end firm in Southampton, shut down construction after the accident Tuesday and yesterday, Detective Sheades said. A call to the firm was not immediately returned.

The project has a valid building permit, which was issued about a year ago, said J. Kent Howie, the village’s senior building inspector. There have been no violations at the site, he said, and the contractor was found to be up to date on all inspections. 

In addition to the local police investigation, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a federal agency that investigates when a worker is injured or killed, has been called in. Mr. Nobre was not wearing any safety device. Village police were not aware that one might be required.

Visiting hours will be held tomorrow at the McManus-Lorey Funeral Home, 2084 Horseblock Road in Medford, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Funeral services will be held there on Saturday at 10 a.m., followed by burial at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Coram.