What Happened
Eliseo Colatosti, 66, of Hicksville, was killed on Labor Day, September 7, 2026, when a New York City garbage truck rolled over him at Gabrielli Truck Sales on South Oyster Bay Road in Hicksville, according to News 12 Long Island. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police say Colatosti was working on the truck at the automotive service business when it rolled over him. Authorities did not specify on September 10 what mechanical work he was performing on the vehicle or whether another worker or operator was present when the truck moved.
Authorities confirmed Colatosti’s identity on September 10, 2026 — three days after the Labor Day fatality. News 12 Long Island reporter Karina Kovac published the identification at 12:32 p.m. The fatality was first reported September 7 as a worker killed at a Hicksville service facility, per an earlier incident record.
Gabrielli Truck Sales is an automotive service business on South Oyster Bay Road. The NYC garbage truck was on-site at the facility when it rolled over Colatosti. No further details on what caused the truck to roll — a brake failure, a mechanical release, or operator error — had been released by authorities as of the September 10 report from News 12 Long Island.
Location & Road Context
Gabrielli Truck Sales sits on South Oyster Bay Road in Hicksville, a commercial corridor in Nassau County that runs north through the center of the township. The business is an automotive service facility that handles large commercial vehicles, including municipal fleet trucks.
Hicksville has seen a series of serious incidents on and near its roads in recent months. A two-vehicle crash took out a pedestrian signal on August 17, 2026, and a car crash downed a utility pole on August 8, 2026. For road and traffic conditions in the area, see Long Island Traffic’s Hicksville coverage.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
No charges had been filed and no arrests announced as of September 10, 2026. The investigation into the precise cause of the truck’s movement was active, but authorities released no findings on mechanism or fault in the News 12 Long Island report that confirmed Colatosti’s identity. Workplace fatalities involving commercial vehicles typically involve a parallel review by the New York State Department of Labor and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration; neither agency had issued a public statement by the time of publication.
Broader Impact
Because the truck involved belonged to New York City’s municipal fleet, the incident raises questions about the chain of custody and maintenance responsibility for city-owned vehicles serviced off-site at private facilities. The New York City Department of Sanitation had not issued a public statement on the truck or its service status as of September 10, 2026.