Contractor dies after falling through roof

The man who fell through a skylight while rebuilding a warehouse roof in Stamford on Wednesday afternoon has died, police said.

The 59-year-old man from Stamford, whose name was not yet released pending notification of his family, died at Stamford Hospital late Wednesday afternoon, Capt. Tom Barcello said.

Investigators in the police department’s Bureau of Criminal Investigations are pitching in to help find the man’s relatives in foreign countries in order to notify them of the death, Barcello said.

The accident is being investigated by OSHA, but he was unaware of their findings.

But Barcello said that he could tell by looking at the accident scene that it was clear that whatever the man had stepped onto that was placed over the skylight could not support his weight.

“It is a tragedy that could possibly be a needless accident that could have been prevented,” Barcello said. “There was not enough support there.”

The man was taken to Stamford Hospital after falling 30 feet while repairing the roof of Stamford Windustrial on Sunnyside Avenue in Waterside.

Stamford Deputy Fire Chief Eric Lorenz said the man was repairing or replacing the four-foot by four-foot skylights on the roof. The man suffered “trauma to the head” once after falling to the warehouse floor, and lost a significant amount of blood, Lorenz said.

The man was transported to Stamford Hospital.