Construction worker seriously injured in fall, cops say

The man fell two stories and onto a concrete basement floor, police said.

HOWELL -- A construction worker was seriously injured on Tuesday when he fell two stories and onto a concrete floor while helping build a house in Howell, authorities said Wednesday.

The 39-year-old East Brunswick man was working on the second floor of a framed house on Cindy Court at 2:25 p.m. when he stepped back into an open area, said Howell police Chief Andrew Kudrick Jr. He said the man fell from the second floor into the basement and hit his head on the concrete floor, Kudrick said. The man, who was not identified, suffered a serious head injury and was airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, he said.

Emergency personnel first on the scene had to get a ladder from a nearby house to reach the victim because the basement stairs had not yet been installed, Kudrick said.

After first being treated in the basement, the man was then hoisted in a Stokes basket through a basement window opening, he said.

The man was in critical condition Wednesday morning but is expected to survive, Kudrick said.

Emergency personnel at the scene included Howell police, Howell police EMS, Howell First Aid and Rescue Squad, Southard Fire Company, MONOC Paramedics, Southard Fire Co., Freewood Acres Fire Co., Howell Township Building Department, Howell Township OEM and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.