A 40-year-old painter was blown off the Manhattan Bridge yesterday by a high-powered blast of air from his paint gun, cops said.
Antonio Pedro – a married father of two from North Arlington, N.J. – plunged 125 feet to his death in the freak accident, which was witnessed by his horrified co-workers.
His body was swept away by the swift currents of the East River.
Pedro, who was working for the Yonkers Contracting Co., was painting a section of the bridge’s Manhattan Tower. A hose attachment came dislodged and the paint gun began bucking wildly, police said.
A high-powered burst of air hit the painter’s chest and blew him headfirst into the water. He was seen briefly floating, but then he disappeared in the current.