by ROCCO PARASCANDOLA
An unidentified construction worker was killed Friday when a three-story garage partially collapsed on him at a troubled work site in Jamaica, New York City police said. A second worker that was pulled from the rubble by police and firefighters suffered minor injuries. The incident happened just past 1 p.m. on 138th Place. The workers were involved in underpinning -- installing concrete slabs to protect property next to the garage -- when the garage collapsed, police and the city's Department of Buildings said. The dead man had only a pack of cigarettes on him and was not immediately identified. The other worker, Ashbourne McPherson, 46, of Cambria Heights, suffered elbow, shoulder, neck and back injuries but is expected to survive. The contractor, Vojtek Construction, of Maspeth, refused comment. The buildings department said it had cited the contractor for four violations. The most serious one involved the contractor's failure to protect the buildings next to the work site. A stop work order was issued on May 31. It expired on July 12, when authorities said the contractor began working to correct the condition. The cause of the collapse was under investigation and authorities could offer no further details Friday evening.
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