Man who died after fall from Camillus roof was construction veteran, hall-of-fame bowler

Camillus, NY Harvey J. Seymour III, the man who died Thursday after falling at a roofing job in Camillus, was a talented bowler, a racing fan and a construction veteran who had been on hundreds of roofs during his career, his mother said today.

But Seymour wasnt supposed to be on the roof from which he fell, his boss said.

Ed Cook, owner of A to Z Contracting, said he hired Jay Seymour on Monday as a laborer. His job was to keep the property clean and hand or toss supplies from the ground to the workers on the roof. He wanted to work side-by-side with Seymour for awhile, making sure Seymours safety ethics matched his, before letting him on a roof, Cook said.

Cook wasnt at the house at 66 North St., Camillus, when the accident happened about 3:05 p.m. Thursday. He said he doesnt know why Seymour was on the roof or whether illness or something else made him fall questions he said kept him up all night.

Im trying to understand it. I cant and its tearing me up, Cook said.

Its a life its someones life, he said.

A to Z Contracting was hired to do interior painting, siding repairs, gutter installation and roofing at the house, Cook said. He said he has shied away from doing roofing work and hired a subcontractor to do it on this job.

According to police, Seymour, 46, of 459 S. First St., Fulton, was placing shingles on the roof of the two-story home. The other two workers on the job neither saw nor heard him fall. One of the workers discovered Seymour on the ground when he went to get a drink of water.

Seymour was taken to Upstate University Hospital. He died about 3:50 p.m.

Evidence at the scene and interviews with workers made it clear that Seymours fall was an accident, Camillus Police Chief Thomas Winn said.

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Man who died after fall from Camillus roof was construction veteran, hall-of-fame bowler