Carbon Monoxide Kills Legal Seafood Manager; 27 Sickened

Photo by Steve Silverman

The manager of the Legal Seafood restaurant at Walt Whitman Shops died Saturday night from carbon monoxide poisoning. Another 27 people were sickened by the fumes.

The Huntington Manor Fire Department and Suffolk police responded to a report that a woman had fallen and struck her head. Emergency workers felt ill after arrival and recognized that carbon monoxide poisoning.

After evacuating the restaurant, police found the manager, Steven Nelson, 55, in the basement. He was taken to Huntington Hospital and pronounced dead.

Police said the 27 victims, which included four ambulance crew members and three police officers, were treated at local hospitals for non life threenting symptoms. Most of those who became ill were restaurant employees.

The nearby Panera Bread and The Cheesecake Factory were evacuated as a precaution.

Among the responding departments were the Greenlawn and Melville Fire Departments.