Teen dies after falling into open cesspool outside of Long Island Dunkin' Donuts

BY Corky Siemaszko
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Originally Published:Monday, March 1st 2010, 9:07 AM
Updated: Monday, March 1st 2010, 9:32 AM

Homicide detectives on Monday were probing the bizarre death of a teenage doughnut maker who fell into a Long Island cesspool and drowned.

Amiri Zeqiri, 17, was hauling out the garbage behind the Dunkin' Donuts in Smithtown when he fell in on Sunday, cops said.

When Zeqiri did not return to work, his younger cousin went out to investigate and found the doomed teenager flailing in 8 feet of filthy water and ran for help.

By the time he got back, Zeqiri had slipped beneath the surface.

Zeqiri, who lived in Central Islip, was fished out of the rank pit and rushed to a nearby hospital where he died, police said.

An autopsy was scheduled for later Monday and Suffolk County detectives were investigating why the hole leading to the pool, where waste from toilets and sinks is collected, was not covered with a manhole.

Dunkin' Donuts expressed condolences for Zeqiri's death.

"This tragedy impacts all of us at Dunkin' Donuts, especially those who had the pleasure to work with him on a daily basis," company spokemsan Andre Mastrangelo said.

There have been several cesspool drownings on Long Island over the years, according to The Associated Press.

In June 2007, a landscaper was killed after driving a lawnmower into a cesspool at a Deer Park home.

In September 2001, a Huntington man practicing archery in his backyard died when an 18-foot-deep cesspool caved in and swallowed him up while his kids looked on in horror.

It took 18 hours to drag his body from the muck.

From: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/03/01/2010-03-01_teen_dies_after_falling_into_open_cesspool_outside_of_long_island_dunkin_donuts.html