Police ID man found crushed to death in alley off Canal Street

Posted at: 07/31/2012 7:51 AM | Updated at: 07/31/2012 11:35 AM
By: Nikki Rudd | WHEC.com

It was a gruesome scene Tuesday morning in an alley off of Canal Street in Rochester where a man was found crushed to death.

Police say 54-year-old Tyrone Martin got trapped in a piece of machinery while collecting metal for recycling. It happened just before 7:20 a.m.

Family members tell News10NBC Martin got stuck in a piece of machinery. Witnesses tried but could not get the large metal plate off of him.
    
It didn't take long before family members gathered at the scene, many of them screaming and crying.

Beatrice Barfield grew up with Martin. She said, “He was my cousin and he was a very outgoing person. He made the family laugh, full of jokes, hard working, just loved people and loved his family.”

Most of the warehouses are vacant or used for storage. One nearby building is being renovated to be turned into apartments.

Police say Martin did not have permission to be on the property. Family members explained to News10NBC that he was collecting metal to be recycled. Cousin Shon Hall said, “They was scrapping metal, just an honest day work and he was in back here trying to scrap a little metal and as you can see the machine back there, it just clicked and fell on top of him. He died instantly”

Rochester Police Sergeant Justin Collins said, “It's very tough any time you have a loss of life. We're unclear what he was doing here but obviously, a loss of life, it doesn't make sense and it's very tragic.”

Martin was not married and didn’t have any children but he did have a lot of family and friends that were very close.

 

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