CENT. PK. TRAGEDY
Worker crushed to death by own van
A construction worker was killed in Central Park on Monday when he was crushed by his own van, officials said.
Manuel Sobral, 56, of Union, NJ, was working near the park’s Loeb Boathouse when a metal fence got stuck under his white Ford van at about 6:30 a.m. as he drove down a narrow path, sources said.
Sobral opened his door and attempted to step on the fence with one foot while applying pressure to the gas with the van in re verse, hoping to free the fence and keep moving, sources said.
But he fell under the vehicle, where he was crushed by one of its front tires, police sources said.
The van was eventually stopped by a rock, but Sobral was left pinned underneath, sources said.
He was eventually discovered by his boss, who immediately called 911.
The hardhat was declared dead at the scene.
His body remained on the ground afterward, covered by a white sheet, while NYPD officers investigated the scene aided by Fire Department personnel.
“He was a very lively person. I’m not in the right mind to talk. My mind is too lost and confused to say anything,” Sobral’s shattered daughter, 32, told The Post by phone on Monday.
“We don’t even know what happened yet,’’ she added.
The van that killed Sobral is owned by MSM Empire Construction Corp., based in Mineola, LI.
Attempts to reach the company by phone were unsuccessful.
Parkgoers were horrified at the news of the accident.
“There’s always something going wrong with construction in this goddamn city, so I’m not surprised,’’ said Vivian Obuelo, 53, of Washington Heights, walking home through the park from her job at Cornell Medical Center.
“You’ve got cranes falling on people’s heads, and now you’ve got construction workers getting crushed to death in Central Park. It’s a damn shame,” she said.