Carbon monoxide leak at NY mall confined to basement

Investigators on Long Island, N.Y., said Sunday a deadly carbon-monoxide leak at a shopping mall appeared to be confined to a restaurant. Steven Nelson, 55, the manager of the Legal Sea Foods at the Walt Whitman Shops in Huntington Station died Saturday night after falling unconscious in the basement of the eatery, which was filled with customers and staff at the time. Suffolk County police said the carbon monoxide appeared to have been confined to the basement. "We are inspecting the heating system," Police Lt. Jack Fitzpatrick said. "It does not appear to have made it in the area of the restaurant where the customers were." Another 28 people were taken to hospitals for treatment of the effects of the invisible but deadly gas. Fitzpatrick said no customers were harmed. The victims were all restaurant employees or emergency personnel who had rushed to the scene. Nevertheless, Legal Sea Foods and two other restaurants were quickly evacuated after Nelson collapsed. "They told us to leave because of a gas leak," Cheesecake Factory patron Kathy Sella told WNBC-TV in New York. ""I didn't want to blow up or anything like that. We were at the bar having a glass of wine and then, one of the waitresses, she said you have to leave."