Mastic Beach Man Killed When Vehicle Falls on Him Outside Home

Jose Balmore Gonzales-Flores, 43, was pronounced dead after a Honda Odyssey fell on top of him outside his home on Cypress Drive in Mastic Beach, Suffolk County police said. Officers and emergency crews found the man pinned under the minivan and pronounced him dead at the scene, police told Patch.

Local emergency responders logged an activation of the Mastic Beach Ambulance Company, which 1stResponderNews reported was dispatched on October 2 at about 3:05 P.M. The outlet named responder units 5-39-81 and ambulance 5-39-15, and said the Mastic Fire Department first lieutenant and Engine 5-12-2 also responded. According to that account, crews were able to remove the male from under the vehicle without the need for an Emergency Service Unit or heavy rescue truck, but EMS found the patient not breathing and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police and local media offered slightly different timelines. Patch reported officers were called to the Cypress Drive residence at around 8:45 p.m. after a 911 caller reported finding a man pinned under a vehicle outside the house. 1stResponderNews, which provided the ambulance unit numbers and operational details, reported the activation as occurring October 2 at about 3:05 P.M.

Investigators are treating the death as an unattended death and the Homicide Squad has taken the probe, Patch said, noting the squad investigates all unattended deaths. 1stResponderNews said the scene was turned over to Suffolk County Police to continue the investigation.

Authorities described the apparent mechanism differently but consistently pointed to a vehicle collapse while the man was underneath. Patch reported detectives determined Gonzales-Flores had been working on his Honda Odyssey in the driveway, toward the rear of the house, and that "the supports for it failed, causing it to fall on him," police said. 1stResponderNews added that "it did appear that at the time of the incident the gentleman was working on the car before it fell on him."

The Mastic Beach Ambulance Company and Mastic Fire Department personnel who responded were identified in the operational account from 1stResponderNews; Suffolk Police 7th Precinct officers were also on scene, the report said. Investigators have not publicly released additional details about ownership of the vehicle, any witness statements, or whether an autopsy has been scheduled.

Suffolk County Police and the Homicide Squad continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding Gonzales-Flores’s death and are expected to release further information as the probe proceeds.