Road Paver Fatally Struck By Co-Worker Near Gracie Mansion: NYPD

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A city Department of Transportation worker was killed on the Upper East Side early Tuesday morning when a co-worker backed into him with a truck, police said.

Eduardo Calle Abril of Queens was working to resurface the road on East 88th Street between York and East End avenues around 1 a.m. Tuesday, police said. While Calle Abril was standing behind a DOT dump truck, another worker put the vehicle in reverse and began to back up, hitting and running over the 44-year-old worker.

Officers responding to the scene found Calle Abril unconscious, unresponsive and suffering injuries throughout his body, police said. Medics rushed the 44-year-old man to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

"This is a painful moment for the entire DOT family. We mourn the loss of our colleague and our thoughts and prayers are with Eduardo’s family, friends and coworkers. The tragedy reminds us all of the incredibly challenging work the women and men of our resurfacing and pothole crews do to keep our streets in a state of good repair. We are grateful for their service on behalf of all New Yorkers," DOT Comissioner Polly Trottenberg said in a statement.

Calle Abril had worked for the city DOT for four years before his death, officials said.

The 35-year-old worker driving the truck was not charged, and the collision is still under investigation, police said. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio released a statement calling Calle Abril's death "tragic" and urging New Yorkers to "keep his family in your thoughts today."

"We’re undertaking a full investigation into how this happened," de Blasio said in the statement.