By Mark LaFlamme,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – A Gray man was hospitalized Wednesday after a load of shingles was dropped onto his head on Pinewoods Road.

Police said 20-year-old Seth Farrington was part of a roofing crew at 45 Pinewoods Road when he was hurt in the accident at about 4 p.m.

Farrington was listed in stable condition Wednesday night at Central Maine Medical Center. Police were expecting officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to come to Lewiston to investigate.

According to police Lt. Tom Avery, Farrington was following another man up a ladder when the shingles fell on him.

Farrington, who works for Windham-based Roof Masters, fell to the ground unconscious when he was struck, police said. Several other members of the crew came to his rescue and called for help.

Early reports were that Farrington had fallen from the roof and that he was dead at the scene. But police officer Crystal Bourgoin said she found Farrington unconscious but alive at the scene. He regained consciousness in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, she said.

No one else was hurt in the mishap. Avery said Farrington was on the first or second rung of the ladder when the shingles fell on him.

The crew had been using the ladder to haul material to the roof of the one-and-a-half story house near the corner of Pinewoods and Ferry roads.

It was believed a problem with the packaging around the shingles may have contributed to the accident. Bourgoin was investigating and police advised OSHA of the accident as part of their protocol for dealing with workplace injuries.

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