Crane crushes three cars Massive vehicle topples on Hackensack ... (a 45-foot, 50-ton construction crane, employed for structural work at the apartment complex, toppled onto a string of parked cars - according to police, the massive crane was off-loading equipment for the work - operator in the back of the cab, felt the cab begin to tip - he must have felt something wasn't right because he jumped out and yelled, 'Run, run')
Roadwork crane plunges into yard (a crane operating on the shoulder of northbound I-5 tipped over - the crane's boom fell down an embankment and landed in a residential back yard - the cab of the crane remained on the shoulder of the freeway - the crane did not break apart - boom crushed a small shed in the back yard of a home - no injuries as a result of the 2 a.m. incident)
Crane tips over near I-75 (a crane tipped over near Interstate 75 injuring the driver and spilling several hundred gallons of diesel fuel - it was unclear why the crane had tipped)
Crane Snaps In Aberdeen (the machine was lifting a slab of cement when it snapped and came within inches of crushing the cab he was sitting in - authorities aren't sure why the crane snapped - workers were lifting a 50,000 pound cement slab as while working on a parking ramp - that's when the crane, that's supposed to be able to hold 142 tons, snapped - photo @ link)
UPDATE C.L. Construction & General Contractors Limited fined $100,000 for health and safety violation (workers were engaged in the forming and pouring of concrete foundation walls when an extendable boom on a concrete pump truck came into contact with an energized, 27,600-volt overhead powerline. The truck operator suffered burns to a thumb and foot. A second worker, who was holding a hose connected to the boom, suffered severe burns to both hands and feet. The electrical current also flowed into an adjacent ready-mix concrete truck causing a third worker, who was standing on the truck's rear platform, to be knocked to the ground. While the third worker was being assisted by a fourth worker, the electrical current caused one of the ready-mix concrete truck's tires to explode. Both the third and fourth workers were struck by the tire and thrown through the air, landing on hard surfaces)
Accident claims Nisku worker (the victim was working with oilfield tanks suspended from a crane and was caught between two of them)
Construction worker in stable condition, bridge construction ... (a journeyman carpenter, injured in a construction accident at the bridge site, is in stable condition - was part of a crew laying support beams - the accident occurred when one of the beams broke - it was suspended from a crane at the time of the break and fell to the ground)
70-ton segment of I-280 bridge falls during test at North Toledo ... (a 70-ton precast concrete bridge segment fell 18 inches to the ground after a mechanical failure at the I-280 construction site injuring no one but disrupting the project for the second time in two weeks - a 6-inch-diameter shaft in a hoisting assembly called a manipulator broke as the segment was lifted slowly off the ground during a test - workers had just installed a different manipulator on the gantry crane being used to assemble bridge spans because construction had proceeded to a stage in which unbalanced precast segments are involved)
Nobody Injured When Crane Topples Over At Santa Monica Pier (a large crane toppled over at the Santa Monica Pier, but no one was hurt - the 28,000-pound crane was being used to lift construction materials as part of an ongoing project to strengthen the pier when it toppled over - the crane "slowly rolled over" onto its side)
UPDATE $1.35m award over crane accident (a jury today awarded $1.35 million to a man whose pelvis was crushed when an eight-tonne concrete panel being lifted by a crane was dropped on him - lawyer said the accident might have been avoided if the snatch block on the crane had been fitted with a locking pin, estimated to cost about $10, a practice introduced since his client's accident)
Accident injures crane operator (one person was taken to the hospital after a crane working on a natural gas well twisted and broke - the crane operator fell approximately five to six feet from the cab of the crane, injuring his shoulder - when the accident occurred employees were performing general maintenance on the well)
UPDATE Fined for causing accident at Freeport (a 40-year-old man was fined Lm500 after he was found guilty of charges of causing serious injuries through negligence or lack of thought to his work colleague - the accident took place on August 19th, 1999, when he was operating a fork-lifter crane known as tank master in order to lift a container and move it from one place to another - hit a container that was on top of another three containers and toppled it over - the container fell and plunged over the tank master's cabin and consequently injured the worker)
UPDATE Wabi Iron & Steel Corp. fined $50,000 for health and safety violation ( worker was using an "overhead travelling crane" (a crane that moves along an overhead rail) to lift a stack of seven large steel "moulding boxes" (boxes used as moulds for the fabrication of metal parts) when a 0.953-centimetre (3/8-inch) lifting chain broke causing a "spreader beam" (a large beam used to stabilize a load that is being lifted) to break apart and fly over the boxes. The worker was struck by the beam on the left side of the head and chest and was taken by ambulance to hospital in North Bay with broken bones, lacerations and a fracture to the front of the skull)
Ministry investigates man's fall from crane bucket (officials are investigating an accident that sent a man to a hospital after a 20-foot fall from a truck crane bucket - the man was in a "cherry picker," an elevated platform attached to a truck, and was changing a light bulb in a street lamp when the truck apparently moved - its extendable boom got caught in an overhead cable and bent, tipping the bucket and resulted in the worker falling 20 feet to the ground)
Two injured after crane accident [17/02/2006] (two workers were seriously injured when they fell from a crane - the two men, aged 34 and 39, were doing some work in the crane when the cabin got dislodged and fell a height of about seven metres into a field with the two men inside)
Worker dies when trench collapses (a 25-year-old plumber died after he was trapped beneath the surface of a trench that collapsed - man was installing water and sewer lines for a new house - had worked for the company for three years)
Crane moving palm tree crashes into breezeway (a crane crashed into a hallway connecting two condo buildings during the grand opening - no one was hurt when the crane came crashing down about 1:34 p.m. - the crane's operator was bringing a palm tree over a breezeway that connects two buildings at the complex - firefighters do not know what caused the crane to fall but they do not think the tree's weight was the culprit)
Injured crane operator in fair condition (a man is in fair condition after being trapped under an 86-thousand-pound crane for almost an hour - two cranes were attempting to load a third upper crane deck onto a base when one of the cranes malfunctioned and sent the deck crashing into the ground - 45-year-old crane operator suffered leg injuries and a broken arm and wrist when his cab was slammed up against the upper crane deck that was lying on the ground)
Crane accident at Syncrude injures six (six workers were injured when a crane fell on a trailer - all six employees had minor injuries - crane was in the area doing some shutdown work - believes some of the injured workers were near the crane but she’s not sure if the others were inside the trailer when the crane fell)
Metro Worker Injured After Crane Accident (a crane operator, 45, was trapped for 50 minutes after a crane fell and crushed its cab - crane tipped over, smashed against the unit he was trying to transport (and) compressed him inside - suffered a broken ankle and wrist as well as leg trauma)
Construction Worker Hurt in Accident on Job OLATHE, Kan. -- A Kansas City Metropolitan Area construction worker was hurt Friday in an accident on the job. The 42-year-old man was in stable condition after he was pinned between a piece of construction equipment and a steel beam, KCTV5's Robb Yagmin reported. It happened at about 11:40 a.m. as the man was working a new addition to a building at Garmin International in the 1700 block of South Mahaffie. He somehow got stuck between the basket on a crane and a steal beam. Some co-workers saw that something was wrong and lowered the boom to see what happened. The man was unconscious for about 30 seconds, and then medical personnel arrived. They rushed him to the hospital with a collapsed lung, which doctors re-inflated. He just started working for a company called Building Erection Services, a subcontractor for a general contractor called Turner Construction. Robb investigated the background of Turner Construction and found the Kansas City company had faced eight OSHA inspections in the state of Kansas since 1976 with one citation in 1993. In the state of Missouri, the company was cited four times for safety reasons in 2000, Robb reported on KCTV5 News at 4:30 p.m. The company paid a $10,000 fine, and three of the citations were deleted, he said. Officials didn't know exactly how the accident happened because the man was under heavy sedation, but his boss said he was expected to be okay.
UPDATE Hewden faces £16m bill over crane deaths PERRY GOURLEY HEWDEN Stuart, the Glasgow plant hire group, faces a damages bill of more than £16m after losing a legal case over a fatal accident. The Court of Appeal has rejected Hewden’s claim over the collapse of a crane at Canary Wharf in 2000, when three workers died. The case is seen as setting a precedent for the way contracts in the construction industry are set up. The appeal had been lodged after the Technology and Construction Court found last November that the company’s former subsidiary, Hewden Tower Cranes, was liable to pay damages to construction groups Cleveland Bridge and Yarm Road following the accident. Hewden appealed on the basis that they were not responsible, since the accident happened during an operation to increase the crane’s height by a process known as ‘climbing’, where extra sections are inserted into it. Roger Stewart QC, counsel for Hewden, argued that under the hiring contract, the erection of the crane which Hewden was responsible for did not include the increase in the height of the crane by climbing. He claimed that it was wrong to say that at the time of the collapse it was still being erected. But the construction firms argued that the climbing process formed part of the crane erection role which Hewden had been responsible for. The original cost of the claim was £8m, but it is now understood the total bill has risen to £16.6m. The damages figure - mainly made up of losses caused to the construction firms - will be considered at another court hearing. As well as the three fatalities, the 150-ton crane’s collapse caused serious injury to two other workers, extensive property damage and substantial delays and disruption to the construction works. It is thought Hewden is considering an appeal against the judgment, which could see it take the case to the House of Lords. The company was not available to comment. The crane was working on the 44-storey HSBC headquarters building at Canary Wharf in Docklands when the accident happened. It was one of five tower cranes hired from Hewden by the construction firms. In their judgment, the appeal court judges stressed there was no implication that the accident was due to actions by Hewden staff, and that the cause of the accident was as yet unknown. The Health and Safety Executive is still investigating the incident, and earlier this year issued an industry discussion paper on the safe use of climbing frames on tower cranes, prompted by the accident. Hewden sold the tower cranes unit to PC Harrington in October last year in a deal thought to be worth £16m, but liability over the court case remained with the Scottish firm. The latest figures show the company made a pre-tax profit of £40.4m last year - a 12% rise on the previous year on turnover up by 4% to £262m. The company’s managing director, Paul Jarvis, recently left his Scottish post after almost three years to become head of the power systems division of Finning, based in Vancouver, Canada. He has been replaced by Nick Lloyd, who was head of Finning UK until 1999 and has recently been running the Canadian group’s business in Chile. Last month the company bought Jersey-based tool hire firm Blandin Light Plant in a £1m deal which it said would move it close to a 30% United Kingdom market share. Hewden Stuart was bought in 2001 by Finning in a £322m agreed takeover deal. The company was founded in 1968 through the merger of Hewden Plant, led by Matthew Goodwin and Frank Jamieson, and Stuart Plant, headed by Ronald Stuart. The firm, which floated at the time of the merger, became the United Kingdom market leader in plant hire.
UPDATE New Details About Deadly Crane Accident Aug 22, 2003 10:35 am US/Eastern A man was electrocuted and two co-workers died trying to save him Thursday when a crane struck an overhead power line at a concrete plant. As electricity coursed through the rig, two men rushed to assist its driver, who had been hurled from his cab. One began administering CPR, but the rescue attempt went horribly awry when the second worker touched the still-electrified crane, sending a deadly jolt through all three men, authorities said. "He put his hand on his shoulder, and he steadied himself on the crane, and that's when they all got it," said Telford Borough Police Chief Douglas Bickel. Other rescuers, terrified that they too would be shocked and killed, then had to stand by until the live wire was shut off by a utility, said George Strickland, general manager of the JDM Materials plant in suburban Philadelphia where the accident took place. While they waited, the crane became so hot with live power that it caught fire. "It seemed like an eternity. I don't know how long it actually took," Strickland sai. The 9:15 a.m. accident left the crane a smoking ruin. Hours after the disaster, a 7,200 volt electrical line remained draped over its boom. The Bucks County coroner identified the crane operator as Robert Forepaugh, 68, of Bensalem. Also killed were Forepaugh's nephew, George H. Frederick, 41, of Philadelphia, and Danial G. Evans, 29, of Philadelphia. Strickland said Forepaugh was a contractor who had been hired to demolish an old structure at the plant. Witnesses said the crane was backing up when it ran into the wires, Strickland said.
Worker falls from truck lift; Arm of bucket truck collapsed Thursday, August 21, 2003 By TOM QUIGLEY The Express-Times HOLLAND TWP. -- A tree trimmer was injured Wednesday morning when the upper arm of a bucket-truck lift collapsed beneath him, township police said. Joseph C. Longyhore, 31, of Upper Mount Bethel Township, Pa., was inside the bucket when the 8:12 a.m. incident occurred on Miller Park Road, police said. The upper arm of the lift and the bucket fell onto a protective cage covering the cab of the truck, police said. Longyhore then bounced out of the bucket, fell onto the cage head first and then fell to the ground, police said. Before the collapse, the worker was about 40 feet up trimming tree branches near power lines. Police said Longyhore suffered head, facial and shoulder injuries. Longyhore works for Nelson Tree Services, of Ashland, Ohio. The company has a contract with Jersey Central Power & Light Co. to trim branches near power lines in the area, police said. Police said it is not yet known what caused the upper arm of the lift to collapse. Police said Longyhore was conscious and alert after the incident and was treated at the scene by members of the Milford-Holland Rescue Squad. He was then flown to St. Luke's Hospital in Fountain Hill. A nursing supervisor said she had no information about his condition Wednesday afternoon. Township police were also assisted at the scene by members of the Holland Township Fire Company.
Crane collapse crushes 5 cars, large truck in Fort Lauderdale By Shannon O'Boye sun-sentinel.com August 21, 2003, 2:59 PM EDT FORT LAUDERDALE -- A large construction crane collapsed on Thursday, crushing five cars and a flatbed truck parked on the ground far below. No injuries were reported. Witnesses said there was no warning. Some compared the sound of the collapse, which lasted for 15 to 20 seconds, to an earthquake. The collapse of the crawler crane occurred around 9:40 a.m. on the 500 block of Northeast Second Avenue where a five-story apartment building is being built. It was not immediately known what caused the accident, which involved a 135-foot tall tower and a 150-ton crane with a 140-foot-long boom, or luffing jib. A sign on the crane said Sims Crane. The crane operator, who was not immediately identified, was lifting a large load of forms when the collapse occurred. He was not injured, but the load of forms, described as the size of a railroad car, dropped to the street below. No other details were immediately available.
Men Die Trying To Rescue Coworker; Crane Came In Contact With Wire A man was electrocuted and two co-workers died trying to save him Thursday when a crane struck an overhead power line at a concrete plant and exploded. As electricity coursed through the rig, two men rushed to assist its driver, who had been hurled from his cab. One began administering CPR, but the rescue attempt went horribly awry when the second worker touched the still electrified crane, sending a deadly jolt through all three men, authorities said. "He put his hand on his shoulder, and he steadied himself on the crane, and that's when they all got it," said Telford Borough Police Chief Douglas Bickel. Other rescuers, terrified that they too would be shocked and killed, then had to stand by until the live wire was shut off by a utility, said George Strickland, general manager of the JDM Materials plant in suburban Philadelphia where the accident took place. Late Thursday afternoon two of the victims were identified. The crane operator was Robert Forepaugh (pictured, left side of picture), 68, the owner of the demolition company that was subcontracted by JDM Materials. One of the other workers killed was Forepaugh's nephew, George Frederick (pictured, right side of picture), 41. "It seemed like an eternity. I don't know how long it actually took," Strickland said. The 9:15 a.m. accident left the crane a smoking ruin. Hours after the disaster, a 7,200 volt electrical line remained draped over its boom. Strickland said the three worked for a Bensalem company that had been hired to demolish an old structure at the plant. Witnesses said the crane was backing up when it ran into the wires, Strickland said. Homes across from the construction site were evacuated so people would not enter the area around the electrocution because electricity goes into the ground. About 600 people were without power for about an hour. Power continues to be off at the plant, but is expected to be back Friday.
Crane tips over; causes minor injuries By Bill Bryan Post-Dispatch 08/18/2003 Two construction workers were injured at about 7:30 a.m. today when a crane tipped over into a building site where they were working. The accident occurred in the Park View Estates subdivision on Kiefer Creek Road in Ellisville, police said. The injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, said Ellisville Police Chief Wayne Prince. One workman sustained a cut on his leg and was taken to St. John's Medical Center in Creve Coeur. The other workman had a bloody nose and a back injury; his status was unclear, Prince said. The two men were on the second floor of an apartment building under construction and were receiving a pallet of plywood from a crane when the crane tipped over and struck the building, Prince said. The crane's stabilizer legs had not been spread out, Prince said.
Engine hoist kills boy, 16, at Lynnwood auto yard By J.J. Jensen and Jennifer Sullivan Times Snohomish County bureau The state Department of Labor and Industries is investigating whether a 16-year-old boy killed yesterday when he was struck by an engine hoist at a Lynnwood auto-wrecking yard may have been performing work deemed too hazardous for workers his age. The Snohomish County teen was killed at the Pull-A-Part auto yard, 18306 Highway 99, when he was crushed beneath a 10-foot steel hoist being used to remove an engine from an automobile, said Lynnwood Police Cmdr. Paul Watkins. Watkins said the teen and another employee were using the hoist at about 2 p.m. when it tipped over. The hoist struck the teen and rolled off his body, he said. The other employee called 911, but the teen was dead when emergency personnel arrived, Watkins said. The hoist, which weighs close to 1,000 pounds, was on unsteady ground, he said. "It looks like it was an unfortunate accident," said Watkins.
Worker Rescued From Largo Metro Project; Steel Beam Hits Man In Tunnel LARGO, Md. -- Emergency workers in Prince George's County pulled off a tricky rescue Thursday. A large steel beam was being moved by a crane when it struck a construction worker. He was injured and trapped in a large trench the site of the future MetroRail Blue Line track to Largo. Rescuers went down into the trench and treated the man. Then they removed him from the area using a rescue basket and a crane. The injured man was taken to an area hospital for treatment.
UPDATE OSHA Fines Owner In Crane Accident; Feds: Equipment That Collapsed At Norwich Marina In Poor Condition By PAUL CHOINIERE Day Staff Writer Published on 8/14/2003 Norwich — The crane that collapsed while lowering a boat into the water on June 6 was in deplorable condition, according to a federal investigation, with leaking hydraulic fluid, corroded cables and a rusting stop mechanism. Because of the alleged violations, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued $16,800 in fines against the American Wharf Development Corp., owner of the 52-ton Mobile American Crane. The three-decade-old crane was placing a boat into the water at Marina at American Wharf when the boom collapsed, crushing the 28-foot pleasure craft. Aboard the boat were Gerhard Otten, 71, of Putnam, the boat owner; his son, Erich Otten, 35; and a marina worker. The older man said he had facial injuries and broke two vertebrae in his neck, as well as sustaining other minor injuries. Otten, whose face was pinned under the wreckage, said that if the crane had flattened the cabin just a couple of inches more his head would have been crushed. “I feel very, very fortunate to be alive,” Otten said. Among the violations cited by OSHA was having people on the boat while the crane was hoisting it. Items being moved by cranes must be unoccupied. The boat was a few feet over the water when the crane collapsed. Also cited by investigators was the company's alleged failure to properly inspect the crane or keep required inspection records. State police are also investigating the incident to determine whether any criminal violations occurred. Ronald D. Aliano, president of American Wharf, said his company will contest the findings. Aliano said he was given assurances by his crane operator that the equipment was inspected and records maintained. He would not comment on whether the operator did in fact do the inspections and keep the records, saying such information was a personnel matter. The crane operator was not identified in the report. Aliano said the worker left the American Wharf company soon after the mishap. The crane is no longer in use and will be sold, he said. A company will be hired to haul boats in and out of the water in the spring and fall. American Wharf had used the crane since it opened in 1988, Aliano said. “We would never intentionally allow any unsafe operations,” said the company president. Otten said he has contacted an attorney and is considering legal action.” All I want is my due,” he said, adding that he holds no personal animosity toward American Wharf or the people who work there. “I'm not mad at them, I'm really not. I think they try to be responsible, I really do,” Otten said. “I'd like to get a boat in there again.”
Alba worker is crushed to death MANAMA An Alba maintenance man was killed yesterday when his head was crushed between a crane and a ceiling beam. Mohammed Rashid Yousif, 27, is the second Alba employee to die at the smelter in a week. The accident came exactly seven days after father-of-14 Abdulla Ali Ahmed, 54, fell to his death from a walkway. An emergency meeting of senior Alba staff was called last night to discuss the latest incident. Investigations are now underway into both accidents to discover how they happened.
Crane overturns onto construction site, man injured Sunday, 10 August 2003 MALE, Aug 10 (HNS) -- A crane overturned on Saturday onto a construction site of H. Athireege in Male, seriously injuring a man. Adam Mueen, who was observing the work on the site, ducked from the falling crane and jumped to the ground, landing heavily, breaking his right leg and receiving injuries to his left leg. Around 4:15pm local time, the crane belonging to Maldives Transport and Contracting Company overturned onto the construction site of Athireege, the residence of Maldives’ first president Mohamed Amin. Construction work is carried out by Laiko Construction and its supervisor Ali Husham told Haveeru that the framework of the first floor of the building was damaged in the accident. MTCC officials refused to comment on the accident when contacted. However, in an interview to Voice of Maldives by police, Major Ibrahim Latheef said that the crane overturned because the planks supporting the crane’s pivots snapped, and that one of the pivots had also sunk into the ground. This may have occurred because the crane may have been burdened beyond its supporting capacity, Latheef said.
Barge capsizes, sends crane into canal reported by Sloane Heffernan August 05, 2003 06:12 PM PUNTA GORDA, August 5, 2003 - A barge carrying a 60-foot crane capsized in a canal in Punta Gorda Isles. Crews were repairing seawalls that were damaged during heavy rains in June when the crane collapsed. An estimated 20 gallons of diesel fuel spilled out of the crane into the water. Most of the fuel was quickly contained. Witnesses said the barge was taking on water before it tipped. “One side of the barge was in the water. It was filling up with water,” said Larry Hofmeister. The operator of the crane was able to jump to safety and only suffered a few scratches. Divers were brought in to recover the wreckage, which is expected to take several days.
Crane Topples At Flagler County Resort; No Injuries Reported PALM COAST, Fla. -- A large crane that was being used at a Flagler County resort construction site toppled Tuesday morning. The accident at the Ocean Beach Resort caused substantial damage to a condominium under construction at the site, WESH NewsChannel 2 reported. No injuries were reported, and most of the construction workers were inside when the crane toppled, reports indicated. The Ocean Beach Resort is part of the Ocean Hammock subdivision near Palm Coast. Stay with WESH NewsChannel 2 and WESH.com for further details.
I-95 northbound reopens near Jacksonville after crane wreck Associated Press July 29, 2003, 11:00 AM EDT WORLD GOLF VILLAGE -- The northbound lanes of Interstate 95 reopened early Tuesday, about 12 hours after a crane being hauled by a truck struck and heavily damaged the overpass at the World Golf Village exit south of Jacksonville. All northbound traffic had been detoured to State Road 16 while temporary repairs were made to the overpass and a broken concrete bridge span was removed, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The southbound traffic was not affected by Monday's accident. Two westbound lanes and one eastbound lane remain open on International Golf Parkway, which crosses the interstate on the overpass. Truck driver Marvin Castleberry, 38, of Hilliard, was flown by air ambulance to Shands Jacksonville Medical Center, where he was listed in good condition. ``The gentleman working for the company, Southern Crane, was doing a job at the World Golf Village, forgot to put the boom down, was getting northbound from IGP (International Golf Parkway),'' Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Etcher said. ``With it up in the air, it struck the overpass.'' While the crash was not related to the current road construction in the area, Superior Construction, the contractor for the widening of I-95, was used to remove the damaged beam and make repairs to the overpass, the Department of Transportation said. The Florida Department of Transportation estimates preliminary work to make the overpass safe cost $200,000, and planning will begin for a permanent fix. ``They've got to cast a new beam, and they've got to go ahead and schedule that construction work,'' DOT engineer Jim Gant said.
Elementary school construction accident sends 2 to hospital (Columbia) July 26, 2003 - An accident happened shortly before 11:00am Saturday in front of Burnside Elementary School. Construction workers have been building a covered walkway here but Saturday their work site turned dangerous a sheet of metal hit two of them. One end of the walkway was already covered with sheet metal Saturday the construction crews started working on the roof on the opposite side. They were using a crane to lift the sheet metal when officials say it became unbalanced and slipped hitting two young workers. Both of the workers had serious injuries. One of the patients that was transported had injuries to the head and chest area. Another patient was transported for near amputation to the foot and toe region. Both were conscious and alert at the time of transport. The two men are said to be in stable condition Saturday night at Palmetto Richland Hospital. No word yet on what exactly caused the accident or if the men were wearing protective gear when the accident happened.
Container crushes two auto-drivers to death NT Bureau Chennai, July 27: Two autorickshaw drivers met a tragic end this morning as they were crushed to death when a container carrying granite stones fell on them at Saidapet early this morning while a man selling fish was killed in a mishap involving a van and a water tanker at Nandanam. According to police, the mishap at Saidapet occurred at around 5.30 a.m when the container slipped off the lorry and fell on the autorickshaws parked at Todhunter Nagar with a great thud. Three autorickshaws were crushed under the impact of the fall. While one of the drivers Murugan (37) died on the spot, Baskaran (30), who sustained serious injuries, succumbed on the way to hospital. Another driver Mustafa, who has been admitted to the Royapettah Government Hospital is said to be in a serious condition. People in the vicinity of the accident site rushed to the spot to rescue the auto drivers after hearing their cries for help. However, their efforts were hampered as the three were trapped under the massive container. The services of police and fire service personnel were sought to help remove the container. Huge cranes were pressed into service to remove the container wshich fell on the autos. While Murugan is survived by a wife and two daughters, Baskaran is survived by his wife and a son. His wife is said to be pregnant now. The lorry carrying the container was proceeding to the Harbour from the granite factory located in Porur. Top police officials including G Uma Ganapathy Sastry, Joint Commissioner (Traffic), rushed to the accident spot and ordered for removal of the container. In the other mishap, which is said to have occurred at 3 a.m near the TNHB office in Nandanam, a van carrying a group of fishermen and a couple of college students was hit by a water tanker. Police said the van was damaged in the mishap while one of the occupants died. Eleven others including a woman also sustained injuries and have been admitted to a city hospital for treatment. The dead has been identified as Baskaran (32). The two accidents led to a traffic disruption on the arterial Anna Salai in the city. Police personnel rushed to the spot to clear the traffic.
Five electrocuted in crane accident From correspondents in Beijing 24jul03 FIVE workers died when they were electrocuted as the arm of their mechanical crane grazed high-tension wires in Shijiazhuang in northern China, state media reported today. The accident occurred yesterday as the workers were moving the crane across a construction site at a cement factory. Five of the workers were electrocuted and the driver was ejected from the seat of the vehicle. He was taken to hospital where he remains with serious burns. Police sources cited by Xinhua said the cause of the accident is under investigation.
One woman killed after massive crane crushes pickup in St. John's Canadian Press Monday, July 21, 2003 ST. JOHN'S, Nfld. (CP) - One woman was killed Monday when a 170-tonne crane truck lost control and crushed a pickup in downtown St. John's. The crane truck had exited a major highway onto New Gower Street when it veered off the road, collided with a utility pole and and struck the pickup. Police did not release the name of the woman killed. "The woman was . . . trapped inside," said Staff Sgt. June Layden of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary. "The regional fire department is arranging for extraction of the body." The mobile crane also hit two parked cars, but there were no other injuries. The accident also temporarily knocked out power to much of the downtown.
Construction accident at new bridge injures worker By BLAKE NICHOLSON, Associated Press Writer A Texas man working on the new Four Bears Bridge west of New Town was seriously injured in a crane accident, officials say. Ballwin, Mo.-based Fru-Con Construction Corp. said the worker was injured June 26 when he was hit and knocked to the ground when a track on a crane came loose while a piece of equipment was being moved. The worker was airlifted to a Minot hospital and later taken to a hospital in Texas, Fru-Con spokesman Cam Green said Tuesday. Green said the company is not identifying the man and not releasing information on his injuries. "He is recovering," Green said. He said the cause of the incident is still being investigated, "and will be for some time." "We know how it happened; we don't know why it happened," Green said. Bruce Beelman, area director in Bismarck for the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said the agency is investigating the incident. "It takes time to interview employees," he said. "It's just unpredictable as far as how long it can take as far as getting all the information we need to get to make a decision." Paul Braun, a spokesman for the North Dakota Department of Transportation, said the state is referring all questions to Fru-Con. Construction of the new $55 million bridge got under way in May and is scheduled to be done by the fall of 2004. The mile-long bridge is replacing a structure that has been deemed too narrow for modern traffic. It is being financed with state and federal funds. The bridge will have two 12-foot-wide driving lanes with 8-foot-wide shoulders, and a 10-foot-wide walkway. The current bridge is only about 20 feet wide.
Hereford man injured in power line accident The Amarillo Globe-News MIAMI - A Hereford man working here on the new railroad expansion was injured Thursday when a crane became entangled in power lines. Roberts County Sheriff's Deputy Rick Smithey said Anthony Abeyta, 19, working for Messer Construction of Hereford, was unloading concrete railroad ties from a work train to the new rail bed using a link-belt crane about 11 a.m. When workers raised the crane, the boom got into some power lines above the crossing on North Main Street and Railroad Avenue, Smithey said. Abeyta was holding onto the clamps on the rail tie and suffered electrical shock. He was conscious with noticeable burns to his hands and feet, Smithey said, and was flown by Lifestar to University Medical Center in Lubbock. Abeyta was the only one injured in the accident, Smithey said. Xcel Energy officials arrived on the scene to check the lines, and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad officials shut down the site for the day, Smithey said.
Large construction crane topples at D/FW airport 07/02/2003 From Staff Reports A large construction crane toppled over early Wednesday afternoon at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport's Terminal D. No one is known to have been injured in the accident, which airport officials are investigating, airport spokeswoman Star Ormand said. No cause or damage estimate is immediately available, Ms. Ormand said. Terminal D is D/FW's future all-international flight terminal and is currently under construction. It is slated to open in 2005 as the airport's fifth terminal.
Crane Accident at Construction Site Kills Five Five workers were killed yesterday morning when a crane beam broke and fell at an apartment construction site in Pyongtaek, Kyonggi Province. Four others were seriously injured and are receiving medical care at nearby hospitals. The workers were working above the crane when its beam broke, causing them to fall 45 meters to the ground below, killing five instantly. Police are investigating the exact cause of the accident.
UPDATE T. K. Stanley cited violations by: OilOnline June 30, 2003 Houston, Texas... T. K. Stanley Inc., of Rayne, La., was cited with six alleged serious and two repeat violations following a federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspection that began about three months ago. A moving crane boom carrying a 50-ton mud pump collapsed, due to muddy, unstable ground, and hit and killed a nearby worker. At the time of the accident, T. K. Stanley was relocating an oil rig to another drilling site.
Worker Freed After Crane Collapse; No Word On Worker's Condition Story by Boston Channel REVERE, Mass. -- A worker was rescued in Revere Thursday afternoon when a huge crane he was operating collapsed in an industrial area. The scene of the accident was the Global Oil Company in Revere. The worker eventually was extracted and there is no word on his condition. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating whether the company and the crane's owners, Glancy Crane based in Avon, had complied with all safety measures.
UPDATE Crane falls at construction site, injuring worker An internal investigation continues today to determine why a section of a crane fell six feet onto a construction worker's leg at the site of what will be a new indoor football practice facility adjacent to Jack Trice Stadium. Leslie Johnson, 46, of Omaha, Neb., was part of a three-man crew that was shortening the crane's boom on Wednesday afternoon. A section fell on his left leg trapping him for a matter of minutes. He was freed by workers with equipment on the construction site before fire and medical crews arrived to stabilize him. Johnson was taken to Mary Greeley Medical Center where he was treated for a broken leg and listed in fair condition Wednesday night. A hospital spokesman said this morning that Johnson had been transferred, but no further details were available. "One of the things that really helped was the fast reaction of the employees that were here, that realized the situation and got other equipment on site to the scene and got things under control," said Mike Tousley, the president of the eitz Co. The 60-ton crane had its boom resting on the ground when the accident occurred. Workers were removing several pins from a joint in the boom when a section fell to the ground and injured Johnson, Tousley said. The crane was being shortened to pick up and place a section of steel, he said. "All proper safety issues were followed," Tousley said. He would not comment on how the accident occurred or the process that workers go through when dismantling a crane's boom. Tousley cited the ongoing investigation as the reason for not offering many details of the accident. The Weitz Company is the project's contractor and the company that hired the crane subcontractor, J.P. Cullen & Sons, Inc., which is based in Wisconsin. Johnson was employed by the Cullen company, Tousley said. The $9.6 million practice facility is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year. Construction crews sent many workers home a few hours early on Wednesday. Workers returned this morning. Tousley estimated 15 to 20 workers were on the construction site when the accident occurred. "It was a tough situation for everyone involved," Tousley said. "Everyone was concerned with the welfare of the employee."
UPDATE Underground Services (1983) Ltd. fined $150,000 for health and safety violation BELLEVILLE, ON, June 19 /CNW/ - Underground Services (1983) Ltd., a Bolton, Ont. construction company, was fined $150,000 on June 17, 2003 for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act that resulted in the death of two workers. On October 26, 2001, workers were removing "jersey barriers" (concrete road barriers) at a highway road and bridge repair project when a cable on a crane, which was being used to lift the barriers, came in contact with a 44,000-volt overhead power line. The incident occurred as one of the workers, who had been signalling the crane operator, went to speak to a second worker. At the time, the crane was in a stopped position. While the signal worker's back was turned, the crane started to back up and the second worker yelled for the signal worker to alert the crane operator of the nearby overhead wires. However, before the signal worker could warn the operator, the crane's cable came in contact with the power line, which was located 11.58 metres (37 feet, 11 inches) above the highway, and the crane became energized. The signal worker was electrocuted while trying to get between the crane and centre median to warn the operator. The operator was electrocuted while trying to leave the crane's cab, possibly after seeing the signal worker fall. Both workers died as a result of their injuries. The incident occurred on Highway 401 near Highway 62 in Belleville. Underground Services (1983) Ltd. had been contracted by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation to conduct the highway repairs on Highway 401 between overpasses on Highways 37 and 62. Underground Services had, in turn, contracted some of the work to a crane company, which employed the two deceased workers. As constructor, Underground Services had overall responsibility for the safety of all employers and workers on the project. Underground Services (1983) Ltd. pleaded guilty, as the constructor, to failing to ensure warning signs were posted in prominent locations where there was a potential hazard from energized overhead power lines, as required by Section 44 of the Regulations for Construction Projects. This was contrary to Section 23(1)(a) of the act. The fine was imposed by Justice of the Peace Sheila Matchett of the Ontario Court of Justice in Belleville. In addition, the court imposed a 25- per-cent victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act.
Man Trapped Under Crane A construction worker is in the hospital tonight after being trapped beneath a crane in Ames. It turned into a very scary afternoon for the Less Johnson and those who rescued him. At about 1:30 this afternoon there were roughly twenty workers at Jack Trice Stadium when a sixty ton crane came crashing down. Weitz Construction company and some subcontractors were trying to take apart sections of the crane's boom. It took three men to get the job done, but something went wrong. The crane was about six feet in the air when it fell to the ground pinning 46-year-old Johnson beneath it. The crane landed mainly on Johnson's left leg. His fellow construction workers were able to free him in a matter of minutes. Construction workers are still trying to figure out what caused the crane to drop. Johnson, is in fair condition at Mary Greeley Medical Center with a broken leg. Severe weather did hit this area this afternoon, but the president of the construction company says that had nothing to do with the accident.
Man dies in crane plunge A dock worker has died after plunging 115ft from a crane at a busy container port. The incident took place at the Trinity Terminal at the Port of Felixstowe just before lunchtime. The man had only been working at the port for a few weeks and was undergoing training, said Paul Davey, corporate affairs manager at the port. He said: "The accident resulted in the tragic death of an employee. His wife has been informed but we are unable to give any further details until all his relatives have been informed. "A thorough investigation will be held to determine the circumstances leading to the accident." The Health and Safety Executive has been informed and will visit the scene.
Bridge Construction Worker Crushed To Death June 16, 2003 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A construction worker on the Wonderwood Connector project was killed Monday morning by a falling concrete piling. A Fire-Rescue spokesman said the man working on the western approach to the bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway was crushed by a concrete pillar being set in place. Jacksonville Sheriff's Office homicide investigators were called to the scene. "A concrete post snapped in half," JSO Lt. Mike Beckmann said. "It was up on a large crane and (workers were) securing it. It snapped in half and struck him." The man's identity was not released, pending the notification of his family. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will also investigate the death. The death occurred on the 2-mile, $36.8 million Wonderwood project, which will connect east Arlington to Mayport. "Our hearts go out to the family, and we will do everything we can to help ease their pain," the contractor, Eby Construction Co., said in a statement. Construction on the site was suspended until Wednesday. This is the second death of a worker on the Wonderwood Connector project. Last July, 51-year-old Beverly Brittain drowned when she dove into the water off a tugboat to free the tug's propeller.
UPDATE Docker crushed to death by crane Jun 11 2003 Ellesmere Port Pioneer A DOCKER was crushed to death after he was trapped under a five-tonne crane, a Liverpool inquest heard. Jeffrey Charles Swan senior, 53, from Woodsome Close, Whitby, died from massive head injuries after the accident at Seaforth Docks. His son, Jeffrey Swan junior, was working only yards away on the quayside when his father was killed. The father-of-two, who had more than 30 years experience as a stevedore, was unloading wood pulp from the hold of the MV Plover Arrow on August 3 last year when his leg became trapped. Fellow dock worker Jay Blackburn said Mr Swan had warned him to be careful not to trip on the loose bindings which held the bales of pulp. He added: 'The frame hit him on the head and trapped him against the bulkhead. I was shocked, I just ran, I'd never seen anything like this before.' Scott Proctor, who was working alongside Mr Swan, said he watched as his colleague was crushed against the bulkhead of the ship. He said: 'I shouted that Jeff had been crushed, there was blood coming from his ears, nose and mouth. I put him in the recovery position but I couldn't feel his pulse. Coroner Christopher Sumner said: 'There is no doubt that Mr Swan died a violent death but I think we can equally accept, perhaps mercifully, that his death was instant.' The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.
By GREG SMITH Norwich Bulletin NORWICH-- Emergency personnel extricated a Putnam man trapped on his boat when the arm of a crane came crashing down Friday. The accident occurred at 12:30 p.m. at 7 Falls Ave. as the 28-foot Carver was being lowered into the Yantic River from its storage spot. Three people were aboard the boat as it was being lowered into the water, including the owner, his son and a dock worker from the Norwich Marina at American Wharf. Norwich police, along with officials from OSHA and the Department of Environmental Protection, are investigating the accident. While moving the boat, a cable from the crane snapped and the boom fell directly onto the boat, police said. "I was right under the crane when it crashed. A cable snapped or something," said Pete Siragusa, 19, of Norwich, who avoided injury in the incident. Norwich police, firefighters from the Norwich Fire Department and emergency personnel from American Ambulance responded to the scene. Boat owner Gerhard Otten, 71, of 101 Fox Road, Putnam, was transported to The William W. Backus Hospital for treatment after being pulled from the crushed and sinking watercraft. Norwich Fire Department Chief James Walsh said extreme care is taken during extrications because of the possibility of neck or back injuries. "It looked a lot worse than it actually was," Walsh said at the scene. Otten was alert when he was transported, he said. Otten's son received minor injuries from the glass that shattered from windows in the boat with the impact of the crane arm. The dock worker was uninjured, police said. "Everybody got really lucky today," Walsh said. By chance, members of the fire department saw the accident occur from the station across the train tracks off West Main Street. They were the first to call 911. Investigation into the incident is ongoing, police said.
UPDATE Lorry driver died in lifting operation accident An inquest jury at Hexham Magistrates' Court has returned a verdict of accidental death after listening to evidence describing a lifting operation in July 2002 that ended the life of lorry driver Marc Channon, 31, in an accident. Mr Channon, an employee of Dowse Crane Hire of North Durham, was delivering a portacabin to a Northumberland construction site, but during the lifting and slinging operation the chains supporting the portacabin broke free from the crane lifting hook and fell on him inflicting such injuries that he died at the scene.
Construction Accident The soggy ground is to blame for an accident that sent a crane truck into a Henrico home Tuesday. It happened while workers were taking down tree limbs in front of the house. A jack that supports the truck sunk into the mud, sending the truck onto its side. It clipped a portion of the house. No one was home at the time.
Crushed port worker remains in critical condition 21 May 2003 A Wellington port worker whose leg was crushed by a shipping container was still in a critical condition today. The man, an employee of Centreport subsidiary Central Stevedoring, was giving instructions to a crane operator on board the Pacific Quest at Aotea Quay when he was struck by the container about 2.30am yesterday. Centreport chief executive Ken Harris said the man was a long-time member of the company and the accident had shocked staff. "We've got several staff having counselling at the moment; we're a very close family down here, so it's quite traumatic for us all." A workmate provided first aid and comforted the man until medical help arrived. Ambulance staff had to perform cardiac resuscitation on him when his heart stopped. Investigators said strong winds of 50 knots (97kph) could be a possible reason for the accident. However, Mr Harris said the company was "not convinced by any means" that wind was the only factor involved. "We've been gathering a lot of information and we're not finished yet; there's a lot to learn – there are still things we don't understand here." The man, who has not been named, was taken to Wellington Hospital and underwent emergency surgery on his leg. He was still in a critical condition today in intensive care. Work at the port began again this morning after being suspended yesterday while Maritime Safety Authority (MSA) staff interviewed workers and examined the crane. MSA deputy director Tony Martin said it could be "some weeks" before the cause of the accident was determined.
UPDATE Worker Death at Detriot's Ford Field Results in Penalties Totaling $556,000 May 21, 2003 The Michigan Department of Consumer and Industry Services (CIS) announced last week the conclusion of the nine-month investigation of a fatal work accident at Ford Field with citations and penalties against Brockman Equipment, Inc. for $286,000, and Thomarios Painting for $270,000. The CIS Bureau of Safety and Regulation (BSR) is responsible for administering the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Act (MIOSHA). Thomarios Painting was a subcontractor on the Detroit Lions' Ford Field stadium construction site. Brockman Equipment, Inc. rented two aerial lifts to Thomarios, including a Condor 150S aerial work platform with an articulating and extensible boom. On July 30, 2002, Thomarios painter Gjon Gojcaj was in the Condor and was painting trusses more than 120 feet above the surface on the east side of the stadium. At about 10:15 a.m., the outrigger of the Condor lifted off the ground for the second time and the lift fell to the east, landing in the lower concrete seating area and fatally injuring Gojcaj, according to CIS. "Ford Field is a shining gem for the Detroit Lions and for the city of Detroit. It saddens us deeply that its construction legacy includes the death of worker Gjon Gojcaj," says Governor Jennifer M. Granholm. "This needless tragedy could have been avoided if either company had fulfilled their safety and health responsibilities." A total of nine willful violations are alleged against the two companies–five against Thomarios Painting and four against Brockman Equipment. Thomarios was cited for a willful violation of the General Duty clause for failure to protect their worker from a hazardous condition and a willful citation for failure to have operators perform a pre-operation inspection. Brockman received a willful citation for failure to inspect and maintain the aerial lift platform. Both companies received three Willful citations for: inadequate training, no manuals provided, and missing warning decals/stickers. A willful violation is defined as one committed with an intentional disregard of or plain indifference to the requirements of the MIOSHA Act and regulations. Based on provisions in the MIOSHA Act, Public Act 154, as amended, every willful violation, which is connected to a fatality, is referred to the Michigan Attorney General's Office for criminal investigation and/or prosecution. Thomarios received a total of 14 citations, and Brockman received a total of 10 citations, for alleged safety violations. The companies have 15 working days from receipt of the citations to comply or contest the violations and penalties. "It became apparent from our MIOSHA investigation that each of these two companies abrogated their own safety and health responsibilities and relied on the other company to protect the workers," says CIS Director David C. Hollister. "These citations today send a clear message that in a situation involving multiple companies--every company will be held accountable for the willful disregard of worker safety and health."
Crane Topples A crane came toppling down in downtown Fresno, putting several lives in danger. It happened at the construction site for the new federal building at Tulare and P Streets in downtown Fresno. The crane crashed down just after 8:00am Monday morning, falling on a semi trailer. No one was hurt. The accident is being attributed to operator error. Construction officials are now working on a way to right the fallen machine.
UPDATE Crane-hire company fined for worklace death that was 'wholly avoidable' Robert Grant, an employee of Rumney Crane and Engineering Ltd, Rumney, S.Wales, lost his life in what a Welsh judge described as a "wholly avoidable accident" in March last year. Mr Grant died from injuries he sustained in a 10-metre fall from a crane at his employer's premises as he undertook electrical work. The company admitted breaching S.2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 in the circumstances of Mr Grant's death and was fined £15,000 with £1,266 costs at Cardiff Magistrates' Court. Steve Scott, HSE Principal Inspector commented: "Wearing a suitable safety harness would undoubtedly have saved Mr Grant's life. Firms whose employees work at height should operate the 'two-metre rule'. In essence, workers should not work within 2 metres of an open edge from which they might fall more than 2 metres unless appropriate precautions have been taken."
Freeways Reopen After Crane Accident; I-5, I-805 Shut Down For Several Hours May 14, 2003 SAN DIEGO -- A crane collapsed on Interstate 5 early Wednesday, pulling down power lines, snarling traffic and causing a chaotic commute. The accident closed stretches of Interstates 5 and 805 until midmorning. A southbound stretch of Interstate 5, a main traffic artery linking the North County to downtown, was the last to reopen at noon, more than nine hours after the accident. The closures left tens of thousands of commuters with nowhere to go and nothing to do but wait. About 270,000 vehicles a day that come through this interchange, so it's a lot of traffic. It impacted all the surface streets and freeways both north and south. It was a headache for commuters and officers," California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Gregg said. A pregnant woman stuck in traffic called 911 about 6:30 a.m. to report that her water broke. Paramedics were able to reach her and get her to a nearby hospital. Earlier, a truck driver stuck in the backup was arrested for drunken driving, according to CHP officer Phil Konstantin. Amtrak and the Coaster, a commuter railway from Oceanside to San Diego, also were held up for hours. The accident occurred about 2:30 a.m. as Caltrans construction crews were working overnight on a project to widen the I-5 and I-805 merge. A crane was attempting to lift 145 tons of steel rebar into place when it collapsed and knocked down power lines that cross the highway. No one was injured, but nearly 3,000 nearby homes and businesses were left without power for several hours. About 700 people still remained without power as of Wednesday afternoon. Those affected are mostly businesses in the Torrey Pines area, 10News reported. Around 6 p.m. the California Highway Patrol reclosed both lanes of I-5 and northbound I-805 around the merge and State Route 52 to repair power lines. According to 10News, traffic flow was back to normal as of 7 p.m. and cars moved freely on the freeways. San Diego Gas and Electric said it could take several days to fully repair three high-voltage transmission lines and two distribution lines that were damaged.
Fallen crane causes power outage: Driver escapes injury, but Natick homeowners are inconvenienced By Jon Brodkin Wednesday, May 14, 2003 NATICK -- A crane attempting to move a tree tipped over yesterday morning, pulling down wires and causing a power outage to 1,900 homes. The driver, Ernie Tupper of Framingham, escaped serious injury, needing only bandages for cuts on his hand. Tupper was removing a tree for a homeowner at North Avenue and Tibbets Street around 11 a.m., when the three-axle vehicle tipped over, causing the crane to drag down wires. That set off a chain reaction which broke a nearby pole, officials said. Deputy Fire Chief Gene Sabourin said the long crane likely was holding the tree at an angle too close to being parallel with the ground, causing the whole vehicle to tip. "It's just a matter of too much extension and too much lean," Sabourin said. The longer the crane, the higher it should be, especially when holding heavy objects, he said. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is leading the investigation into why the crane tipped. Officials were still on the scene as of 6:30 last night. It was taking them many hours to lift the truck upright because of OSHA's investigation and delays in getting the proper equipment to the scene. The crane was eventually righted and towed just away before dark. The last fire crew left just after 9 p.m. NStar crews, though, worked into the night trying to restore power. Tupper, 35, declined to comment, except to say that his hand was not hurt badly. Natick Sgt. Robert Davis said one of four outriggers used to steady the vehicle broke, another possible cause of the accident. He also said OSHA officials likely will look into whether the tree exceeded the allowed weight the crane can carry. The longer the boom, he said, the less weight it is supposed to haul. NStar spokesman Mike Monahan said all but about six of the 1,900 customers who lost power had it restored within 45 minutes. NStar could not replace a transformer to restore power to the other six until several hours later, when OSHA finished its on-site investigation, he said. Because of the nature of the accident, local officials were required to notify OSHA, which did not arrive until almost two hours after the mishap. Residents who had lost power in their homes milled about the scene, as NStar employees worked to put the lights back on and firefighters and police officers tried to determine how the crane fell. Tupper, whose vehicle was labeled All Time Crane Service, apparently was unsure about why the accident occurred. At one point, he asked several local officials for their opinion on why the crane tipped over. The tree he had been removing from next to the house lay broken on the street. The driveway in which the crane had been working was cracked in the fall. A 38-year-old Tewksbury worker died in a crane accident in Waltham last November. Dennis O'Neil was riding in the extended bucket of a crane when the truck tipped over. In yesterday's accident, there was no bucket on the crane. Sabourin said the tree was secured to the crane by a cable with a hook.
Worker crushed to death under crane CHIBA -- A construction worker was fatally crushed Thursday when a 47-meter long crane came falling down on him in Abiko, Chiba Prefecture, police said. Takashi Kokubun, 54, died instantly. Two of his colleagues were also hurt in the accident. Police said the crane was trying to lift a wall at a construction site. It toppled when the arm of the crane was stretched to the maximum 47-meters, construction officials said. The area was very windy at the time. Police are also investigating a claim that operators of the crane forgot to put weights on the crane to prevent it from toppling. (Compiled from Mainichi and wire reports, Japan, May 8, 2003)
UPDATE Crane accident again claims man from firm; Same company employed workers killed at Miller Park By LINDA SPICE Last Updated: May 7, 2003 A Minnesota man killed in the city's first fatal crane accident since the 1999 Big Blue crash worked for the same company that employed the three ironworkers killed in the Miller Park tragedy. According to a Milwaukee County medical examiner's report, Edward Dern died Tuesday afternoon when an 616-pound steel beam fell on him during construction of Cathedral Place, a $52 million development near N. Jackson and E. Wells streets that will include parking, condominiums and offices. Dern, a married father of four who was working for Danny's Construction Co., based in Shakopee, Minn., died at the accident scene. An ironworker since age 16, Dern, 35, had Preacher written on his hard hat. Outside of his construction work, he was the pastor of Apostolic House of Prayer in Worthington, Minn., and was studying with Aenon Bible College to finish pastoral credits, according to obituary information released by Dingmann Funeral Home, which is handling services for Dern in Minnesota. He was hired as the varsity soccer coach for the Worthington Senior High School and recently took the U-14 traveling team to the state level, winning two gold medals. He was active in his community's YMCA and with other youth groups. Dern was to celebrate his wedding anniversary on Friday with his wife, Angela, the funeral home reported. George Yoksas, area director for Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said the incident was the first crane accident causing a fatality in Milwaukee since Jeffrey Wischer, William DeGrave and Jerome Starr died on July 14, 1999, when the Big Blue crane toppled while lifting a 450-ton roof piece on the Miller Park project. The three men were employed by Danny's Construction. Company officials at the Minnesota office for Danny's Construction referred a reporter to the Milwaukee office, where officials said they had no comment about Tuesday's incident nor about Dern. Government documents on the OSHA Web site confirm that the company also was involved in the Miller Park project. Yoksas said Tuesday's accident remained under investigation. He said two people from OSHA were interviewing witnesses, employees and contractors and would be checking into worker training in the next few weeks. Milwaukee police Lt. Eric Moore said the case is also being investigated by the Milwaukee County district attorney's Office. Developer Joel Lee, one of four owners of the Cathedral Place building, said OSHA officials had just visited the work site two weeks ago and reported no problems. He said Danny's Construction was a subcontractor hired by another subcontractor working for KBS Construction, the general contractor. "Everything seemed to be OK," he said. "We just got word about this late yesterday. Everybody around here is just very upset by it. It's unfortunate. We just don't have any idea as to what the cause of it was. It just seems to be basically an industrial accident. It's a tragic one, too." The medical examiner's report says Dern died of crushing chest injuries as well as other injuries to his head and extremities as a result of blunt force trauma from the falling beam. Preliminary accounts contained in the report indicate Dern and another worker were in a parking lot near the construction site linking two steel beams to a crane. Dern's job was to place the choke on the beam and hook it to the crane. The choke is located in the middle of the beam and tightens when the beam is lifted, according to the report. The accounts indicate the crane had lifted two beams 50 to 100 feet in the air when the other worker noted that the lower beam was not hooked up right. The crane operator, a third worker, was given instruction to lower the beam down. When it was about 26 feet from the ground, the lower beam fell off the hook and landed on Dern.
Deadly Accident A barge captain is dead after an accident at a consumers power facility in Mason county. It happened around noon Monday in Ludington while the man was working on a fish barrier net at the consumers power storage facility. The man was crushed by a crane of a jack up barge. He was a contractor working at an underwater construction corporation. The company was contracted to install and maintain the fish barrier net around the area.
Beam falls, kills construction worker; Downtown accident under investigation By KELLY WELLS May 6, 2003 A 35-year-old construction worker was killed Tuesday when a steel I-beam being lifted by a crane fell on him at a downtown Milwaukee construction site, authorities said. The man was working on the parking structure for the Cathedral Place development being built on the southeast corner of N. Jackson and E. Wells streets. He was in a small lot on the east side of Jackson St. when he was killed. Authorities declined to release the man's name or to say for which construction firm the man worked because his family had not been notified. When rescue personnel arrived, the man's co-workers had already lifted the beam off him, Milwaukee Fire Department Lt. Randy Hamburger said, but the man died at the scene. Hamburger estimated the beam weighed between 800 and 1,000 pounds. KBS Construction, the general contractor for the project, said the man who was killed did not work for KBS. Larry Breneman, vice president of Madison operations, said he was at the site at the time of the accident, but he declined to speculate on what went wrong, saying the accident was under investigation. "Our heart goes out to his family," Breneman said of the man who died. A representative of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration who was at the accident site also declined to comment and referred questions to the agency's Milwaukee office, which had closed for the day. Cathedral Place, a $52 million development, will include parking, condos and offices.
Buckled sign scaffolding bottlenecks SPID; Some are trapped on the highway for more than an hour By Mike Baird Caller-Times May 4, 2003 A damaged and dangling 18-ton sign bridge that buckled while being removed caused traffic to be closed in both directions for several hours early Saturday on South Padre Island Drive. The sign bridge, a road sign-holding metal scaffolding that stretched across all six lanes of the highway, buckled while being removed by a 100-ton crane near the fly-over construction on SPID between Kostoryz Road and Ayers Street. Workers were forced to leave the damaged sign bridge dangling on the crane until Texas Department of Transportation workers could safely cut off about a third of it with an acetylene torch. The Corpus Christi Police Department provided 15 units to help reroute traffic, which quickly bottlenecked on access streets and side roads, said Lt. Carlos Rios, police department traffic supervisor. Dozens of drivers were trapped on SPID for more than an hour while police worked to clear the highway, police said. Mathis residents Deborah Dodd and her 10-year-old son, Gus, were delayed nearly an hour while commutng to the science fair at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. "I was pretty worked up by the traffic delays," Dodd said. Buckled just before 8 a.m. The sign bridge was to be removed at 7 a.m., said Cliff Bost, transportation department spokesman. "It was in the way for the expansion project close to the interchange, where the fly-over is being constructed," Bost said. "It got hung up on the metal supports and about a third of it buckled just after 8 a.m." Because of the way the sign bridge was bent, the crane couldn't move it until another crane was brought in and the structure was cut into two pieces, he said. "Anytime you have construction, traffic patterns can change hourly, and people need to expect things - today was a good example of that," Bost said. Police received a call for assistance about 11 a.m., and Rios said their units had cleared the southeast-bound traffic by 1:50 p.m. Northwest-bound traffic was clear by 2:30 p.m., he said. At least one police sergeant was trapped by the unexpected traffic mess. Sgt. Tim Revis, who works in robbery and homicide investigations, couldn't get off SPID for an hour and 20 minutes, he said. The delay was long enough that he couldn't get to a suicide investigation. "It was a mess," he said. "Some people were backing up, going the wrong way." One accident that occurred near the congestion couldn't be directly linked to the SPID traffic problem, police said.
UPDATE OSHA penalty is paid, $7K fine levied in training lapse By NANCY POSTER For Dispatch/Sunday News Monday, May 05, 2003 - A Hanover contracting company fined in connection with a worker's death in January has paid the fine but says it does not admit any wrongdoing. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Conewago Enterprises $7,000 -- the maximum the agency can assess -- over the training of the employee who was operating a crane involved in the Jan. 16 death of William D. Coulter, 44, of Fairfield, Adams County. The company also was fined $5,000 -- later reduced to $3,500 -- for a violation not related to the accident, said Robert Fink, director of OSHA's Harrisburg office. Coulter, who had worked for Conewago for 4 months, was killed Jan. 16 when a bridge crane struck the elevated scissors lift on which he was standing into a precast shop roof. Coulter was pinned against the roof. Adams County Coroner Patricia Leinbach said he died from asphyxia due to blunt force trauma to the neck. OSHA levied the $7,000 fine after determining Conewago did not have each crane operator "designated or trained to operate an overhead bridge crane," according to the OSHA citation and notification of penalty, which is dated April 4. The employee who was operating the crane the morning Coulter was killed had not been trained to operate the equipment, Fink said. Company's position: Conewago Enterprises president Donald Smith confirmed that "OSHA investigated the accident and felt there were two areas where we could have done a more thorough job in training. We do not necessarily agree with their assessment." In a prepared statement, Smith said the company "has one of the best safety and training programs in the industry and in fact have received awards from The Associated Builders & Contractors Association." Accidents do occur, he wrote. Smith said the company made a business decision to settle the matter with OSHA without admitting any violations "while continuing our efforts to train our employees to work in a safe manner." Coulter's death was the first fatality at the company, according to Smith. Last week, Conewago verified that the violations had been corrected and the fines were paid. The second fine, Fink said, was for allowing employees to work in proximity to electric power circuits without protecting them against electric shock by de-energizing and grounding the circuits or shielding the circuits with insulation. After a conference with the company earlier this month, OSHA reduced that penalty to $3,500, Fink said. "They were very cooperative," he said of the company. Conewago Enterprises, based on Edge Grove Road, does construction work on commercial buildings and public works facilities. The company was formed 10 years ago and is a subsidiary of Conewago Contractors Inc., a 45-year-old Hanover firm. Coulter was married and the father of two children. He was an Army National Guard veteran and had spent 10 years in the Navy.
Man critical after construction accident By Rodney Tanaka Staff Writer Thursday, May 01, 2003 - A construction worker was in critical condition Thursday after a piece of equipment from a crane fell on him at Mt. San Antonio College. The Los Angeles County Fire Department responded to the injury at 9:13 a.m. at Temple Avenue in Walnut. Adrian Camacho, 34, was hit on the right shoulder and back and driven to his knees by an arm used to pump concrete from a crane, fire Capt. Ron Nixt said. Camacho works for subcontractor Correra Concrete. He stopped breathing and did not have a heartbeat, so Mt. SAC security guard Jeff Parker performed CPR on the man until firefighters arrived, Nixt said. Camacho was taken to Harbor- UCLA Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition Thursday evening, according to a hospital spokeswoman. The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the injury. The Fire Department will give Parker a letter of commendation, Nixt said. West Covina resident Loretta Riddle, 34, who was driving by when the injury happened, said she wanted Parker to be recognized for his life-saving efforts. Parker continued CPR even after Camacho vomited in his mouth, she said. "He saved this man's life,' Riddle said. "He is a hero.'
Royal Mint worker unlawfully killed May 2 2003 By Antony Stone, PA News A Royal Mint worker crushed by a plummeting six-ton furnace was unlawfully killed, an inquest jury said in a controversial verdict today. Shift worker John Wynne, 51, was killed when a 15ft-tall bell furnace slipped off a heavy-duty crane hook and plummeted 14ft. The furnace had been precariously perched on the tip of the crane hook at the time, an inquest jury in Merthyr Tydfil heard today. The death of Mr Wynne, of Gilfachgoch, in the Rhondda Valley, in June 2001, sparked a high level safety inquiry at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, south Wales, where he worked. Health and Safety inspectors discovered a vital safety indicator on the side of the furnace was broken. Later they learned the crane operators had routinely ignored it because they did not know what it was for. Widow Catrina Wynne, 47, and her daughter Joann, 24, both called for the Royal Mint's immunity from prosecution to be stripped away after the inquest today. A seven-strong jury initially recorded a verdict of unlawful killing after a three-hour inquest. Earlier Philip Walters, the Bridgend and Glamorgan Valleys coroner, had pointedly directed them towards a verdict of accidental death, saying they were not being asked to consider one of unlawful killing. He then sent them back to reconsider the verdict after saying they should be convinced there had been "such disregard for the life and safety of others as to amount to a crime against the state". The jury then recorded a 6-1 majority verdict of unlawful killing, having been directed to consider an open verdict and one of accidental death as well. Mother and daughter both sobbed for joy and said "thank you" as the jury delivered its verdict. Earlier, Mr Wynne's colleague Jeffrey Luckey, told the inquest he had been operating the crane from ground level by remote control when the accident happened. He said he was unable to see the crane hook and relied on a top flap "coming up" on the furnace to see when the crane was properly engaged. He had no knowledge of a "tell-tale" safety tab fitted to the side of the furnace, which was designed to lift to show when the hook was properly in place. He said he had never received any training in the operation of the crane, never knew about the operator's manual, just knew to look for the tab on the roof of the furnace. He said the furnace itself had been at a height of 14ft when it had fallen and struck Mr Wynne. A post mortem later showed that he had died from a blunt injury on his left side. Health and Safety inspector Roger Jones said the tip of the crane hook had been bent out of shape and "burred". Inquiries had shown that the furnace had been held off the ground by the pointed tip of the crane's hook. He said it was likely that it had been picked up in a similar way once or twice before. "If somebody told me they were going to lift that load on the tip of the hook, well, you are going to get away with it once, but it would be like flicking a coin. "It can't have happened that many times because it was going to fall," said Mr Jones. The inquest heard that safety was regarded as paramount at the Royal Mint and the task in question was now carried out from a raised platform where the crane hook is visible. Managers at the mint agreed they relied on a "cascade effect" where the knowledge of one operator was assumed to be passed on to others. A tearful Mrs Wynne added at the conclusion of the inquest: "They have reached the right verdict today." Daughter Joann said: "My father was never given any training and to hear people speak, you would think nobody was to blame for his death. "But if my father had known about the safety tab on the furnace, he would be alive today."
Worker killed in accident at high rise construction site By ABC13 Eyewitness News The worker was killed while working on Tremont Towers in southwest Houston Wednesday. An accident at a high rise construction site killed a worker Wednesday. It happened around noon at the Tremont Towers on Yupon and Westheimer in southwest Houston. Workers were moving a load of corrugated steel with a crane when the load shifted. The load fell and hit a worker on the ground. He was rushed to Memorial Hermann Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Houston police and the OSHA are investigating the incident.
YOUNGSTOWN Man killed at site of demolition; Both men ran to avoid the falling beam, but Charles Thomas ran into its path. By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR. VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER YOUNGSTOWN — A Youngstown man died in an accident at a downtown demolition site Saturday. Charles Thomas, 55, of 131 Boardman Street, was crushed by a falling steel beam at the corner of Front and Phelps streets just after noon. The William Pizzuto Co. is tearing down a parking garage on the block bordered by Front, Phelps, West Boardman and Hazel streets. According to police reports, a worker for the construction company was using a crane to lift a steel beam, but the cables on the crane became stuck on a piece of wood and the beam began to fall. Thomas, talking to another man, was standing on the sidewalk in the vicinity of the demolition work, the report shows. Reports say both men began to run in opposite directions when they saw the beam falling, but Thomas ended up in the falling steel's path. Police said he died before help arrived. The steel beam that hit Thomas is used to protect streetlight poles from falling debris during the demolition process. Under investigation A spokesman for the Youngstown Poice Department said it is unclear if any charges will be filed. He said police are still investigating. William Pizzuto, owner of the demolition company, said Thomas had been a common sight around the demolition area. He said workers had asked him to leave the area several times before the accident, but he would usually come back. "When I left to go to lunch, [Thomas] was standing there on the corner in front of the [Trinity United Methodist] church," he said. According to Pizzuto, the area around the demolition site was roped off. Family and friends of Thomas', a steel worker on disability, said it was a part of his nature to be around construction or demolition sites, making conversation with whomever he could. His sister, LaJena Solomon, said he just liked to watch the work. She had gathered Saturday evening with friends of her brother's outside Amedia Plaza, West Boardman Street, where he lived. "He was always just the type of person that was just there — no matter where you looked, he would be there, talking and being friendly," she said. Several of Thomas' neighbors described him as a caring man who was always looking to make new friends and lend a hand when needed.
Broken Crane Halts Rail Traffic and Closes Streets in Jersey City By THE NEW YORK TIMES ERSEY CITY, April 17 — A broken construction crane teetered 40 stories above Washington Boulevard today, forcing the closing of several city blocks and a four-hour suspension of light rail service on this city's waterfront. The 330-foot Manitowoc crane was being operated on a high-rise apartment building when a cable broke shortly before 10 a.m., said Sgt. Edgar Martinez, a spokesman for the Jersey City police. No injuries were reported and no one was evacuated, Sergeant Martinez said. The mishap at the Marbella Luxury Apartments, a 42-story building under construction downtown, reminded many people here of a more serious accident last year. In January 2002, the arm of a 460-foot crane at an office building also on Washington Boulevard malfunctioned, forcing the evacuation of 850 residents and the closing of several blocks for four days. "Last year we were dealing with a German-made crane and it took several days to get the experts and equipment into town," Sergeant Martinez said. "Fortunately this is an American crane, and it only took a matter of hours to secure the site." Sergeant Martinez said, "The workers expect the whole process to take about six hours, so traffic will continue to be disrupted, but we hope everything will return to normal by Saturday." This afternoon, the crane's owners, Vergona Construction of Englewood, dispatched two smaller hydraulic cranes to the site and secured the Manitowoc as workers continued to make repairs, said Joseph Vergona, a co-owner of the company. "The only difficulty was getting up to the top to do the repair," he said. "It's a pretty easy job — we'll replace the broken parts and it will be ready to go back to work." The accident suspended service on New Jersey Transit's Hudson-Bergen Light Rail system at the Harsimus Cover station for about four hours. New Jersey Transit provided shuttle service to the displaced passengers before full service was restored at 2:45 p.m., said Ken Miller, a spokesman for the transit system. Shortly before 8 p.m. tonight, the streets were reopened and traffic was back to normal.
UPDATE OSHA Cites Weymouth, Mass., Employer in Waltham Tipover Death, Stresses Need for Proper Worker Training to Prevent Similar Deaths METHUEN, Mass. -- The death of a Massachusetts worker, killed when his truck tipped over while he was working in an aerial lift, could have been prevented if the truck had been properly positioned and the worker trained in its correct operation, according to the U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Brite Lite Electrical Co., Inc., of Weymouth, Mass., has been cited for four alleged serious violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and faces $14,700 in fines following the Nov. 24 death of Dennis O'Neil of Tewksbury, Mass. O'Neill was working in the bucket of an aerial lift, stringing Christmas lights on Waltham Common, when the truck tipped over, causing him to fall to the ground. OSHA's inspection found that the truck had been positioned on soft soil rather than a solid surface and its outriggers had not been properly deployed to effectively stabilize it, explained Richard Fazzio, OSHA's area director for Middlesex and Essex counties. As a result, OSHA cited the coany for failing to ensure the outriggers were placed on a solid surface and that employees were properly trained to do so. "Trucks with aerial lifts must have their outriggers fully deployed and properly supported," "said Fazzio. "Training employees in the specific requirements and safe work practices for each type of vehicle they work with is the most effective means of preventing tragedies such as this one." Brite Lite was also cited for three hazards found on a second truck: a broken ladder railing, unlabeled controls and employees exposed to fall hazards while operating an aerial lift due to lack of operating instructions, load labels and documentation of required equipment testing and lack of annual inspections by qualified personnel. OSHA defines a serious violation as one in which there us a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazardous condition about which the employer knew or should have known. The inspection was conducted by OSHA's Methuen, Mass., area office. The telephone number is (617) 565-8110. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is dedicated to saving lives, preventing injuries and illnesses, and protecting America's workers. Safety and health add value to business, the workplace and life. For more information, visit www.osha.gov .
Man Killed At Fairfax Construction Site Reported by: 9News Web produced by: Liz Foreman 4/21/03 12:08:59 PM A man has been killed in an accident at a construction site on Red Bank Road and Fair Lane in Fairfax. Police said the man was digging a trench around 11 a.m. Monday when he was hit by a 2,000 pound steel plate being handled by a crane operator. An Air Care helicopter quickly arrived on the scene but there was nothing emergency crews could do to save the man's life. The victim's name has not yet been released.
Crane falls on Wal-Mart roof; store is closed JIM STERN, Gazette Staff Writer April 18, 2003 RAYNHAM -- A construction crane toppled onto an addition of Wal-Mart, severely damaging store infrastructure and forcing the indefinite closure of the mega department store yesterday. No one was injured and the cause of the accident is being debated by various officials. Fire Department officials said a crane being used to load a heating and air conditioning unit onto the roof of the new Super Wal-Mart fell forward shortly after 4:30 p.m. yesterday. The 100-ton crane severely damaged rooftop support beams, a back wall, gas pipes and electrical lines inside the store, Building Inspector Rodman Palmer said. Palmer said the store will remain closed until a structural engineer determines the building to be sound. Construction officials on scene declined to comment yesterday. Lettering on the fallen crane read "Astro Crane," of Stow. An official cause of the collapse was being debated last night. Fire Lt. James Januse said officials from Astro Crane said a strong wind gust knocked the crane over. Several fire officials said they were skeptical of the explanation, as fire sources said they did not believe the wind was strong enough to push over a 100-ton piece of machinery. Palmer said he was led to believe from interviews and personal observations the jib on the crane extended to far low and back, causing the mechanical crane to drop and the back end of the crane to fall forward. The store was closed for the remainder of the day and Palmer said it was uncertain when the store would re-open. As of 9 p.m., yesterday, a Wal-Mart hired engineer was traveling from Arkansas to study the damage at the store. Palmer said a store construction crew would be working overnight. The State Department of Public Safety and Special Operations were on scene last night. Inspector Paul Wakem declined to answer any questions from reporters. The accident scene created heavy interest among onlookers. Two hours after the crane had fallen, more than 50 people had gathered at the scene. Many carried binoculars and video recorders. One family sat in lawn chairs.
Two injured in garage construction accident Lisa Florkowskicavalier Daily Yesterday's accident at the Emmet Street parking garage site occured when a concrete slab attached to a crane fell from its fixture. The two workers who were riding on the beam at the time sustained injuries and were taken to the University Medical Center for treatment. Two workers sustained injuries and broken bones yesterday at the construction site of the new Emmet Street parking garage when a concrete slab fell, according to University Police Sgt. Melissa Fielding. "About 1:45 today there were two constructions workers on top of a concrete slab that was being lifted by a crane," Fielding said. "The concrete slab holding the employees dropped 20 feet, injuring them." The problem stemmed from a piece of metal that was already supposed to be welded to the slab, she said. Fielding could not detail the injuries sustained by the workers, whose names have not yet been released. Both were taken to the University Medical Center. "All I know about their injuries is that they were transported to the emergency room for treatment," Fielding said. At the site of the accident, Kurt Gould, an employee with Donley's Construction, Co., shed some light into the nature of the accident. "Basically, we had an erection error -- very simple," he said. University Spokesperson Carol Wood offered some details of the events that transpired. "At about two this afternoon a precast concrete T fell at the parking garage construction site," she said. Wood added that one worker "immediately was taken to the hospital with back injuries. He was conscious and alert."
UPDATE Potentially Fatal Westwood, Mass., Construction Accident Results in OSHA Citations and $224,000 in Proposed Penalties for Employers BOSTON -- Exposing employees to potentially fatal safety hazards at a Westwood, Mass., construction site has resulted in two Massachusetts employers and one Vermont employer being cited and fined a total of $224,000 by the U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA has cited Jan Five, doing business as Alexandra Construction, and Epernay Design and Construction, Inc., both of Newton, Mass., as well as Northern Construction Dynamics of Hyde Park, Vt., for alleged willful violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act after the agency investigated an Oct. 1, 2002, accident at the Westwood High School construction project. In the accident, a 55-foot steel column toppled over after it had been placed on its foundation as soon as the crane line holding it was released. "Fortunately, no one was injured in this incident, which could have had tragic consequences," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. "These companies knew the safety standards they should have been following, and they all are being cited for willful violations of the law." According to Brenda Gordon, OSHA's area director for southeastern Massachusetts, Alexandra Construction, as the general contractor on the site, is being cited for three willful violations, including: allowing steel erection to begin before foundation material was sufficiently strong, and before giving written notification to the steel erector; allowing steel erection to begin before giving written notification to the steel erector that anchor bolts had been repaired; and modifying anchor bolts in an unsafe manner without the approval of the engineer of record. This company is also being cited for one other-than-serious violation for failing to secure a compressed gas cylinder. The total proposed penalty for this contractor is $126,000. Epernay Design and Construction is being cited for a willful violation, with a proposed penalty of $56,000, for modifying anchor bolts in an unsafe manner without the approval of the engineer of record. Epernay Design and Construction was in charge of preparing the foundation of the building prior to steel erection. Northern Construction Dynamics, the steel erection contractor, is being cited for one willful violation for beginning to erect steel before receiving written notification from the controlling contractor that foundation material had sufficient strength to support the steel. It is also cited for an other-than-serious violation for providing a discharged fire extinguisher for emergency use. The company's total proposed penalty is $42,000. A willful violation is defined by OSHA as one committed with an intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and regulations. OSHA's area office in Braintree, Mass., conducted the inspection. Its telephone number is 617-565-6924. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is dedicated to saving lives, preventing injuries and illnesses, and protecting America's workers. Safety and health add value to business, the workplace and life. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.
Construction Accident Injures Workers In Westminster. Apr 3, 2003 1:02 pm US/Eastern A crane operator says he was laying a concrete slab when it fell onto the top of the garage causing a partial collapse, which knocked 3 workers off the structure. Two of the workers were flown to Shock Trauma, a third worker was taken by ambulance. So far, there's no word on the three workers conditions.
Investigation under way after crane topples onto highway Investigators are trying to determine the cause of an accident Saturday evening involving a hydraulic boom crane at the I-280/Maumee River bridge construction site. Luckily, the road was closed because of the construction and the accident did not hinder traffic. The stretch of the highway where the incident occurred was expected to open at 6 a.m. today. The crane was lifting a 58,000-pound concrete form when it tipped over into the northbound lane of I-280 about 5:30 p.m. The name of the operator, who was treated for a cut finger at a local hospital, was not released by the bridge contractor, Fru-Con, Inc., of Ballwin, Mo. The crane was working on a section of the bridge approach between Front Street and Starr Avenue. Joe Rutherford, an Ohio Department of Transportation spokesman, said the I-280 shutdown was the fourth of 10 planned weekend closings related to construction of five concrete piers that support the roadway leading onto the new bridge. "Anytime we’re going to be doing lifting of heavy equipment over traffic, we don’t want any traffic on the road at all. That’s the reason we close," he said. Workers spent yesterday cleaning debris from the accident and removing the damaged crane and form, which fell from a height of about 60 feet. He said Fru-Con is looking for a new crane. The expressway is scheduled to be closed this weekend for additional pier construction if the company finds a replacement crane and form in time, he said. Such cranes can lift up to 250,000 pounds. Construction of the cable-stayed bridge began a year ago and is scheduled for completion in 2006. Additional I-280 closings for other bridge construction work also are scheduled. But Mr. Rutherford said during the heavy traffic period of Memorial Day through Labor Day, weekend closings will be dropped in favor of 7 p.m.-6 a.m. weekday closings.
Big Dig worker killed in construction accident By Associated Press, 3/24/2003 17:18 BOSTON (AP) A Big Dig construction worker was killed Monday after he was hit by a weight attached to a crane, authorities said. The accident happened at a Big Dig work site at D Street and Hall Road in South Boston at about 10 a.m., said Lt. Richard Powers of the Boston Fire Department. The victim, a 55-year-old Roxbury man, was apparently standing behind the crane while working on the Interstate 90 portion of the Central Artery/Third Harbor Tunnel project, said Big Dig spokesman Sean O'Neill. His name was not immediately released pending notification of relatives. He is the fourth worker killed while working on the Big Dig, which began in the late 1980s. Central Artery officials, OSHA, the Department of Public Safety and the Suffolk District Attorney's office are investigating whether reckless conduct, mechanical issues or negligence may have contributed to the worker's death. David Procopio, a spokesman for the Suffolk District Attorney's office, said the crane operator was taken to Boston Medical Center, where he was treated for stress-related symptoms. The $14.6 billion Central Artery/Third Harbor Tunnel project includes the Ted Williams Tunnel under Boston Harbor, an underground connection from Interstate 90 to the Williams tunnel, miles of underground highway in downtown Boston replacing the old elevated Interstate 93 Central Artery, and the new Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge.
Worker Injured As Downtown Crane Topples; Man's Condition 'Stable' At Northwestern Hospital March 20, 2003 CHICAGO -- A construction worker was injured when a crane he was operating tipped over at a Loop work site Thursday morning. The worker was operating the crane at the site, the intersection of Franklin and Monroe streets, when the machine somehow tipped over, according to Central District Sgt. William Kelly. Emergency crews received a call about the pin-in accident at 8:29 a.m., according to First Battalion Chief James Mindak. ithin 15 minutes or so, crews were able to remove the operator, who appeared to be in his 30s, from the cab of the crane. The man was believed to be in "stable condition" and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital as of 9:05 a.m. Four to five firefighters helped removed the operator from the crane at about 8:55 a.m. The man appeared to be bleeding from the head, but was still conscious and alert, Mindak said. He added that crews had to negotiate "between machinery" to remove the man. A representative of Northwestern Memorial Hospital could not immediately say whether the hospital eceived the patient. As of 9 a.m., the crane still was tipped over on the south side of Franklin Street, which had been closed off from Madison to Monroe streets. The street has since been reopened to traffic. During the rescue process, four fire trucks and an ambulance lined the streets around the construction site. There were also two red sport utility vehicles commissioned to the Fire Department. A nursing supervisor at Northwestern confirmed that the construction worker was brought there, but could not immediately provide his condition or age. An Occupational Safety and Health Administration representative said they sent an investigator to the scene and could not immediately provide any more information.
UPDATE OSHA Cites Sea Island Landscaper for Exposing Workers to Electrical Hazards; Agency plans compliance assistance program to prevent electrocutions SAVANNAH, Ga. -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Sea Island Company, Inc., for failure to protect workers from electrical hazards that contributed to a worker's death. OSHA is proposing a $63,000 penalty. On Sept. 18, the day of the accident, employees were using a truck crane to remove and replace trees located near overhead power lines. The truck's crane was positioned near the 7,200-volt lines. While lifting one of the trees into place, wire mesh around the roots of the tree came in contact with the power lines, transmitting an electrical current down to a worker who was standing near the base of the crane. The worker was seriously injured by the ensuing electrical shock. He died Oct. 14. The agency issued one willful citation to Sea Island Company, Inc., a grounds-maintenance and land development company, for allowing the crane to be operated near energized overhead power lines without taking any type of protective measures. "If the employer had positioned the crane away from the power lines or had the power company de-energize the nearby lines, this tragedy could have been avoided," stated John Deifer, OSHA's Savannah area director. Because electrocutions and shocks are a major cause of accidents in the Southeast, the agency is developing a program to address the hazards, including those associated with overhead power lines. The program will include training, outreach and compliance assistance, as well as strong and fair enforcement when employers expose workers to these dangerous conditions. The company has 15 working days to contest the OSHA citations and proposed penalties before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The inspection of the work site was conducted by OSHA's Savannah area office at 450 Mall Blvd., Suite J; phone: (912) 652-4393. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is dedicated to saving lives, preventing injuries and illnesses, and protecting America's workers. Safety and health add value to business, the workplace and life. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.
Crane topples at Port, killing longshoreman By The daily World staff A longshoreman operating a crane on the dock at Terminal 2 at the Port of Grays Harbor was killed at 10 o'clock this morning after the rig overturned and he was trapped inside. Douglas Lunceford, 65, of Montesano, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Leonard Barnes, the Port's business & development director. Billy Swor, dispatcher for Local 24 of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union, said the man was a member of the union's maintenance and repair unit, an ILWU affiliate. The crane was property of the Port of Grays Harbor, according to Mary Nelson, Port finance director. Several companies, including Rognlin's Inc. and Quigg Bros. Inc., were working on the dock on the construction of Ag Processing Inc., the new bulk grain - loading facility scheduled to open in September. Aberdeen firefighters and police got the emergency call around 10 a.m. The Coast Guard was summoned after oil from the overturned rig was discovered leaking into the Harbor. A Rognlin's crane was called in to try to right the overturned crane. Fire Chief Dave Carlberg said Dick Seaman, the department chaplain, had been called to offer counseling to the victim's family and co - workers.
Construction Worker Electrocuted Lake Milton Gerry Ricciutti A North Lima man is dead, following an accident in a highway construction zone. State troopers say 37-year-old Peter DeLucia, Jr. was killed Wednesday morning along Interstate 76 near Lake Milton. Investigators say the victim was part of a construction crew working on a paving project on the interstate. He reportedly was moving concrete barricades with the help of a crane, when the crane came into contact with power lines overhead, electrocuting DeLucia.
WORKER KILLED IN FACTORY HORROR BY SIMON BLACKBURN 11:00 - 19 March 2003 Health and safety officials are investigating a horrific accident at a South Devon factory in which a 52-year-old worker died. The man, working for a Newton Abbot engineering firm, was killed after a sheet of metal fell on his head. Police officers went to Centristic Ltd on the Heathfield industrial estate at 7am yesterday. Initial reports said that the worker, who has not been named, had suffered serious injuries. Paramedics were called to the metal fabrication company in Cavalier Road. The man was found dead on the floor of the factory by the ambulance crews. An ambulance service spokesman said: "We had a call around 6.40am. We found the man on the floor. He had massive head injuries. "He was clearly dead." The company did not wish to comment. Police have now handed the case to the Health and Safety Executive. They have set up an investigation team. A HSE official said a sheet of metal measuring 4meters by 2meters fell on the worker. "The metal was being lifted mechanically at the time," she revealed. HSE officials were at the site yesterday and today. They will interview any witnesses and send a report to the Exeter coroner for his consideration at a full inquest later in the year. There are no suspicious circumstances. A post mortem examination was expected to be carried out later today. An inquest may open tomorrow. A full hearing will be held at a later date.
UPDATE Indiana jury awards $16M to amputee Associated Press March 19, 2003 HAMMOND, Ind. -- A Highland man whose foot was amputated in a 1998 industrial accident has been awarded $16.5 million by a federal jury. John Mesman, 44, contended in the lawsuit that Crane Pro Services designed a defective crane and that his employer, Infra Metals of East Chicago, failed to take adequate steps to ensure worker safety. Spokesmen for Crane Pro Services and Infra Metals declined to comment today on the jury decision. The accident took place at an Infra Metals plant in Portage on Jan. 17, 1998. Mesman was inside a rail car hooking up steel to be unloaded when an overhead crane dropped a 14,000-pound load of steel inside the rail car and hit him. Lawyers for the companies contended Mesman should not have been in the rail car at the time the load was dropped. Kenneth J. Allen, Mesman's attorney, said the verdict issued Tuesday was "a solid victory for the safety of all working men and women in Indiana." Mesman sought in the lawsuit to be compensated for the accident, which he claimed cost him $232,000 in past medical bills, about $850,000 in potential bills in the future and more than $650,000 in lost wages. "This verdict will help restore John's dignity and provide for his future, but it will never fully replace what was taken from him," Allen told The Times of Munster. Allen said Mesman continued to work part time.
Accident Shuts Down Portion Of Ridge Avenue Reported by: 9News Web produced by: Liz Foreman Last updated: 3/11/03 11:55:52 AM There's a bit of a mess at the intersection of Ridge and Highland in Columbia Township Tuesday afternoon. The boom on a construction truck hit wires overhead Tuesday morning, leaving the power lines hanging only four feet off the ground. The truck is used to transport bricks. The owner's name was not made available. Police are redirecting traffic in the area and Ridge Avenue is closed heading south at the intersection.
Scissor lift accident victims recovering RANCHO CUCAMONGA — An electrical contractor and his female employee remained hospitalized Sunday, two days after they were injured in a fall from a scissor lift. The contractor, Juan Francisco Garcia, 29, of Pomona, and his employee, 25-year-old Zulema Olvera of Pomona, were in satisfactory condition at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, hospital nursing supervisor Joy Flint said Sunday. Garcia and Olvera suffered numerous broken bones and other injuries when a lift they were standing on at a business in the 11400 block of Sixth Street toppled over, sending them approximately 20 feet down to the ground, San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies. The pair were installing electrical conduit when the accident occurred. The accident is being investigated by Cal-OSHA, as well as by deputies from the Rancho Cucamonga Sheriff's Station.
UPDATE Burned Dam Worker In Critical Condition A 22-year-old Arkansas man was in critical condition Wednesday, a day after he was burned by electricity. Manuel Salazar was hurt about 11 a.m. Tuesday after the crane he was standing near hit a 115,000-volt line at the construction site of a backup dam at Lake Murray. Another worker had first-degree burns on his hand after trying to help Salazar, officials said. The state Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating, said Jim Knight, spokesman for Labor, Licensing and Regulation. The state OSHA department is part of LLR. OSHA, which is not required to investigate when only one person is hurt, stepped in because of the seriousness of Salazar's condition, Knight said. Salazar was flown to the burn unit at Doctor's Hospital in Augusta with second- and third-degree burns on 40 percent of his body, officials said. Salazar works for H.B. Mellott Estate Inc. of Pennsylvania, said Brian Duncan, SCE&G spokesman. The company is a subcontractor of Barnard Construction, overseeing the building of the backup dam. The $275 million construction began last month and is expected to be done in 2004. Construction resumed Wednesday after a safety meeting with work crews, SCE&G officials said.
Accident involving crane, high-voltage wire halts work at Lake Murray By LORA HINES Staff Writer Work at the Lake Murray dam stopped Tuesday when a construction worker suffered a severe electrical burn after a crane hit a high-voltage line. The 22-year-old worker, who was not immediately identified, was burned about 11 a.m. after the crane he was standing near hit a 115,000-volt line, officials said. The man was in critical condition Tuesday night at Doctor's Hospital burn unit in Augusta, South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. spokesman Robin Montgomery said. Another worker suffered first-degree burns to his hands when he tried to help his burned co-worker, Lexington Emergency Medical Service supervisor Stuart Platt said. The man with the burned hands was treated at the scene. The man inside the crane was not hurt. The severely injured man, who had burns on his left chest and back, plus both arms and legs, was flown to Augusta from the dam's Saluda River side, where he was working, Platt said. The man works for Melott, a subcontractor, Montgomery said. He didn't immediately have information about the company. The construction crew stopped work for the rest of the day. It was unclear Tuesday night whether construction would resume today, Montgomery said. It's not unusual for people who stand near an object that's been energized with electricity to get burned, Assistant Lexington County Fire Chief Brian Hood said. "That's why we tell people not to stand under a tree in a storm. Electricity is looking for the closest and best pathway to the ground." The electricity that hit the crane probably arced and hit the man who was standing nearby, Hood said. "You have to remember that the arc is several thousands of degrees." The man who was inside the crane probably was safest, Hood said. "If you're in a car accident and you hit a live wire or pole, you want to stay inside the car," he said. "People get hurt when they try to get out and put their foot on the ground." Last month, as many as 90 people started building a backup dam at Lake Murray, Montgomery said. Construction started on opposite ends of the dam, moving toward the center. Work can occur simultaneously in two sections as long as those areas are at least 1,000 feet apart. But plans limit initial work to single sections for nearly half the wall, particularly those at the middle, where water pressure is highest. Construction is to be finished in 2004. The project will cost $275 million.
Broken crane crushes workers From correspondents in Beijing 06mar03 EIGHT workmen were killed and four injured when part of a crane collapsed at a road construction site in eastern China, state media has reported. The men were working on a project to connect the cities of Huizhou and Hangzhou when the accident happened, the Xinhua news agency said. Twelve workers were sheltering in the work shed from the rain when the outstretched arm of a crane standing ten metres away from the shed suddenly broke off, falling on the shed roof," it said. Seven of the workers died at the scene, while another died on his way to hospital. The other four were treated in hospital for serious injuries. An investigation has been launched into the accident.
Quezon City mayor cheats death By M. PUNONGBAYAN TODAY Correspondent Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. Friday cheated death when one of his aides pulled the mayor aside when a steel bar crushed into the official’s car near a construction site in Cubao. Reports from the Central Police District (CPD) said Belmonte’s Nissan Terrano, with license plate WCT 128, was hit by a corrugated steel bar that fell from a construction crane around 1:15 a.m. on E. Rodriguez Boulevard in Cubao. Belmonte and his aide, Alex Vidal, were on their way home after visiting the wake of the late mother of Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman and Acting Public Works Secretary Bayani Fernando in Marikina, when they passed by a building undergoing construction. Police said Belmonte’s car had no police escorts when they passed near the site of Metro Construction Co. when a corrugated steel bar, which was dangling from a construction crane, crashed at the left portion of the mayor’s vehicle where he was seated. Fortunately, Vidal grabbed and pulled Belmonte aside and the steel bar misse the official’s head. Vidal told Today that he was seated right next to Belmonte who was right behind the driver’s seat, when the steel bar fell on the car, which was badly damaged after the accident. “Katabi ko lang siya. Sa ulo siya tatamaan kung hindi siya nakailag ng mabilis eh,” he said. Vidal said there definitely was a lapse on the part of the construction workers who were erecting a private school in the area. He said there were no warning signs which should caution motorists nor were there enough lights to let drivers see the construction work. “Wala ngang radyo eh. Dapat may radyo sila sa taas at may radyo din sila sa baba para may magsasabi kung ano nangyayari,” he explained. Vidal said the workers were transporting the steel bars using a construction crane which accidentally hit an electric cable, causing steel bar to fall. “Pagbaba namin ng sasakyan kitang-kita pa namin, pati ni Mayor, na nagsi-swing pa ’yung bakal eh. Ni wala ngang nagtatrapik,” Vidal added. Vidal said Belmonte is not taking the matter personally but the mayor is more concerned about the safety measures being implemented in the construction site. Vidal said appropriate charges will be filed against the crane operator and the driver of the truck which transported the steel bars. They were identified as Senando Mateo, 36, the crane operator; truck drivers Erlito Arce, 25, and Rustico Bajan Jr., 27. All three went to the mayor’s office Friday afternoon asking the mayor’s forgiveness hoping that the charges against them would be withdrawn.
Crane Mishap + Accidents + Ramp Closure = Rough Day For I-85 Drivers; Construction Expected To Last Until 2007 February 20, 2003 DURHAM, N.C. -- Some drivers had a frustrating day in the construction zone on Interstate 85 in Durham. Crews from the state Department of Transportation had to temporarily shut down the U.S. 70 ramp onto Interstate 85 South in Durham County on Thursday, forcing some cars to detour to the I-85 North ramp on Club Boulevard and then back onto I-85 South. Some drivers stuck in the detour were not happy about it. "I think it could be a hazard for the traffic because you've got a major interstate, and traffic is lined up pretty far back there. It could be an accident," motorist Brenda Woodruff said. There were more driver/construction hassles in the I-85 work zone. During the morning rush, Durham police say there was a five-car pile-up at the intersection of Interstates 85 and 70. Police also say a crane knocked wires down briefly blocking the interstate. "I got to find a new route to get here," motorist Wesley Karl said. The I-85/Highway 70 interchange is now back open to traffic, but DOT officials said construction will last until 2007.
Firefighters rescue injured construction worker By: JUDY PACK, Citizen staff February 19, 2003 Local volunteer firefighters traded their bunker gear for ropes and pulleys Friday to rescue an injured construction worker at the bottom of a hole estimated to be 20 feet deep. "The injured man was an employee of a contractor developing some apartments at the intersection of Crenshaw and Beltway 8," Dewey Irvin, assistant fire chief for the Pasadena Volunteer Fire Department, said. The construction crew was in the process of boring a hole under Beltway 8 when a piece of pipe being lowered into the hole struck the man in the head, leaving him trapped inside the hole. When emergency crews arrived, he was alert and conscious. "Because the man had suffered head trauma and had an injured shoulder, it was a major ordeal to send six firefighters and two emergency medical technicians into the hole to start an IV and put him on a backboard," Irvin said. Eight more firemen were above ground at the same time, rigging up the pulleys to raise the injured man out of the hole using a stokes basket, he said. Once the rescue was completed, he was transported to the Medical Center in Houston by Life Flight. His injuries were not life-threatening, but any type of head trauma is automatically transported to one of two trauma centers in Houston. Both Ben Taub and Memorial Hermann Hospitals are equipped to treat injuries that cannot be detected by emergency personnel. "We had some heavy-duty equipment at the scene and two ambulance crews because we weren't quite sure what we were dealing with when the first call to 9-1-1 was received," he said.
UPDATE Concord company fined $100,000 for health and safety violation BRAMPTON, ON, Ontario Limited, a Concord, Ont.-based contractor which specializes in assembling and erecting formwork used to build concrete walls, was fined $100,000 on February 4, 2003 for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act that resulted in injuries to an employee. On September 8, 2000, a crane operator was moving formwork into place along a retaining wall when the crane's boom collapsed and the hook block, weighing about 272 kilograms (600 pounds), fell onto a carpenter's head. The worker suffered serious head and other injuries. A Ministry of Labour investigation found 556347 Ontario Limited had not ensured that, before operation, the crane was in safe operating condition. The crane's boom angle indicator, which is used to determine the angle of a lift, was not functioning properly. In addition, the wrong load-rating plate was affixed inside the crane. The crane operator knew about these deficiencies. At the time of the incident, the crane's load was about 70 per cent over capacity. The incident occurred at a new terminal building under construction at Lester B. Pearson International Airport in Mississauga. Ontario Limited pleaded guilty to failing, as an employer, to take the reasonable precaution of ensuring that, before operation, the crane was in safe operating condition, including ensuring the boom angle indicator was functioning properly and the correct load rating plate was on the crane. This was contrary to Section 25(2)(h) of the act. The fine was levied by Justice of the Peace Darlene Florence of the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton. Previously, on August 6, 2002, the crane operator pleaded guilty to failing, as a worker, to ensure the crane wasn't subjected to a load in excess of its load-bearing capacity. This was contrary to Section 151(1) of the Regulations for Construction Projects and Section 28(1)(a) of the act. The worker was fined $9,000 by Justice of the Peace Laurie Pallett of the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton. In addition to the fines, the court imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act.
Crane falls on tugboat 16feb03 TWO people are dead and five others missing after a crane onboard a barge broke loose and crashed onto a tugboat in the waters off southern Johor state, police said today. One Malaysian and six Indonesians were missing after the incident and two of the bodies had been recovered from the water, said Dimin Awang, deputy chief of the southern region marine police. The bodies, which have yet to be identified, have been sent to a local hospital," Dimin said. Police will continue the search operation tomorrow until all the remaining five are found, he said. Dimin said the freak accident happened yesterday when the crane was lifting a small boat into the barge when it broke loose, hitting the tugboat moored alongside the barge. "The police are investigating the accident," he said.
Howell iron worker killed by fallen piling By carolyn o’connell Staff Writer LONG BRANCH — An iron worker from Howell lost his life in a construction site accident last week. Greg Larsen, 35, was pulled from a stream in Elberon on Feb. 4 after he was struck in the head by a steel piling while working on the construction of the Wood-gate bridge shortly before noon, according to Long Branch Police Department Lt. Bruce Johangten. Johangten said the crane which moved the steel piling may have malfunctioned, allowing a cable to slip and setting the piling free to fall vertically. According to witnesses who spoke with police, several co-workers who heard the piling fall scrambled to get out of the way, but Larsen was not able to get out of the way in time. "The piling was transported vertically, and when it fell, it was like a tree falling on him (Larsen), knocking him off the bridge falling 8 to 10 feet before falling into the water which is approximately waist deep," said Johangten. The first officers to arrive at the scene were Robert Korn, Joseph Graziano and Sgt. Jason Roebuck. They found Larsen in the water being aided by co-workers who were supporting his neck until emergency medical services and the Long Branch Fire Department water rescue arrived. When the Elberon First Aid Squad responded, Johangten noted, that Larsen was still breathing but unresponsive. Larsen was transported to the Jersey Shore Medical Center Trauma Unit, Neptune, and died at about 9:35 p.m. after surgery due to blunt trauma to the head, said Johangten. According to Johangten, this is not the first tragedy to strike the Larsen family. Thor Larsen, Greg’s brother, lost his life in a similar tragedy almost two years ago in February while he was on the job as an iron worker in South Brunswick. Paul Larsen, also a brother to Greg, had been working at the Woodgate bridge construction project just two weeks ago. Johangten said the accident will be investigated by the Long Branch Police Department Detective Unit, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Adminis-tration and an independent company hired by E. Sambol Corp., Toms River.
Crane falls on Anaheim home; None are hurt, but about 400 residents lose electricity as power lines snap. By ZAHEERA WAHID The Orange County Register Anaheim The boom on a 65-ton crane crashed onto the roof of a house Friday when the machine tipped, taking down power lines and leaving about 400 residents without electricity, authorities said. No one was injured in the accident, which was reported at 2:20 p.m. in the 2300 block of Seville Avenue. The 185-foot crane, which had been erecting poles for the Anaheim Public Utility, tore a long, deep hole through the middle of the roof, Fire Department spokeswoman Maria Sabol said. The end of the boom landed in the back yard of a second home. All four tires supporting the crane's deck were off the ground as the machine balanced on two extended legs and the roof of the single-story house. "It was kind of an eerie sound," said Mike DeMore, who lives next door. "A nice crashing sound and a snapping of wires. I was on the phone at the time and the phone went dead." No one was inside the damaged home at the time of the accident, Sabol said. DeMore was among the neighbors evacuated for several hours while the situation was assessed, and a 300-ton crane was brought in to right the smaller crane. Crews secured the tipped crane and brought it upright at 7 p.m. About 80 people remained without power Friday evening, but their electricity was expected to be restored by midnight, Sabol said. The contractor on the project, Pouk & Steinle of Riverside, sent investigators to determine the cause of the accident, Sabol said. Pouk & Steinle had hired the crane through a subcontractor, city spokesman John Nicoletti said. Pouk & Steinle moved the residents of the damaged home into a hotel, Nicoletti said.
UPDATE OSHA cites, fines S.C. contractor for crane collapses Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. - A South Carolina contractor has been cited and fined by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for two crane collapses at the company's Maybank Highway Bridge construction site. Republic Contracting Corp. was cited Monday and could pay $66,500 in penalties. Republic employees were constructing support columns for the new bridge near Johns Island when the first accident occurred Aug. 16. A crane collapsed while lifting a reinforced steel cage weighing about 100,000 pounds from a barge to the inside of a bridge column form. Parts of the crane fell into traffic lanes of the two-lane Stono Rover Bridge. Federal OSHA conducted the investigation because the accident occurred on a floating barge located in navigable waters. The investigation determined that the crane had not been attached to the barge; equipment required to safely lift the load was missing from the crane and the crane's computer warning system had been by-passed. On Sept. 12, another Republic crane at the same construction site overturned, narrowly missing several yachts and injuring the operator. Federal officials found that this crane also had not been secured to the floating barge. The company has 15 days to contest the federal citations and proposed penalties before the Independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
4 workers injured when crane collapses at Pompano apartment site By ARDY FRIEDBERG sun-sentinel.com January 29, 2003, 11:31 AM EST POMPANO BEACH – Four people were hurt – one critically – when a crane collapsed and snapped at a construction site for the new Laguna Pointe Apartments complex, city officials said. None of the injured were immediately identified in the 7:55 a.m. Wednesday accident on the 900 block of West McNab Road just east of Interstate 95. Two of the construction workers were rushed to North Broward Medical Center, and one of those suffered from multiple fractures and other injuries. Another worker was sent to the nearby North Ridge Medical Center and another was treated at the accident scene, said city spokeswoman Sandra King. The reason for the crane collapse was not immediately known, King said. Witnesses said the crane, which had a Zeiger Crane Rental sign on its side, was lifting what are called tunnel forms to the second floor of a building under construction. The forms are used in building floors, King said. For some reason the crane collapsed dropping its load onto the construction area. The worker with the critical injuries was working on the second floor, she said. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was notified of the accident.
No one hurt as debris rains down from condo under construction By ARDY FRIEDBERG sun-sentinel.com FORT LAUDERDALE -- Just before 11 a.m. Tuesday, a crane dislodged a section of scaffolding on the 18th floor of a condominium under construction in the 100 block of East Las Olas Boulevard sending timbers and metal tumbling to the ground around the base of the crane. Emergency units responding to the accident said no one was hurt. The general contractor of the Riverhouse Condo Tower is Suffolk Construction of West Palm Beach. A representative of the Occupation Safety and Health Administration said an investigator was being sent to the site.
One worker seriously injured in collapse of 20-storey tower crane By Dominique Loh A 20-storey tower crane collapsed on Friday afternoon along Tiong Bahru Road, trapping two workers for more than one and a half hours before they were rescued by Civil Defence officers. One construction worker is believed to have suffered spinal injuries while the other may have broken his leg. Two other workers suffered only minor injuries and were seen hobbling to an ambulance at the accident scene. All four were taken to the Singapore General Hospital. Tsao San, a witness, said: "The first thing I heard was the sound, a very loud crashing sound, much louder than what is normally heard, so you know something extraordinary has happened, so I came and when I got here, everything was as it is, already the crane and the boom were twisted out of shape." Witnesses say the workers were trying to dismantle the crane at about 4.30pm when the structure gave way, trapping the two workers within the main structure. It took about 30 minutes for Civil Defence officers to rescue the first worker, who may have suffered spinal injuries. Major Eric Yap, Commander, Ist CD Division,said: "One of the casualties sustained serious injuries, suspected spinal injuries so we had to be very careful with the rescue and we had to stabilise his condition to ensure his injuries do not get worse when we transfer him down." After the first rescue, officers turned their attention to freeing the other trapped worker, who may have broken his right leg. It is still not known how the crane structure could have given way.
Work lift collapses Downtown, 2 injured By Terry Horne Two stagehands were injured this morning when a scissors lift collapsed as they were hanging banners at the Indiana Convention Center. Barney Levengood, executive director of the center and the RCA Dome, identified the stagehands as Floyd Paulsen, a fulltime employee of the convention center, and Herman Teepe, a part-time worker. Both were taken to Wishard Memorial Hospital. Levengood said he did not know the extent of their injuries. Wishard spokesman Don Payton said both men were in fair condition. Levengood said the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Division was investigating why the lift collapsed. The employees were hanging banners on the outside of the center along Maryland Street when the accident occurred about 8:30 a.m.
Crane arm crashes through dental clinic The arm of a crane broke through a window of a dental clinic after the vehicle rolled over on a national highway in Tokyo on Saturday morning, police said. The arm of a crane leans against the wall of an office building in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, after breaking through a window of a fourth-floor dental clinic. Nobody was injured in the accident. Police are questioning construction workers and their supervisor in a bid to determine the cause of the accident. At around 8:40 a.m., a crane lost its balance and rolled over as its driver was loading it onto a trailer parked on Route 246 in the Taishido district of Setagaya-ku, police said. The vehicle's arm broke through a window of Hirano Clinic on the fourth floor of a nine-story office building along the highway. The crane was to leave the site after dismantling a neighboring building. The 20-meter-long arm had been folded down to 15 meters at the time. The scene is located in an area about 200 meters away from Sangen-Jaya Station on the Tokyu Denen Toshi Line. (Mainichi Shimbun, Jan. 11, 2003)
Broken piston rod blamed for High Point crane accident The Associated Press HIGH POINT, N.C.(AP) - A fatal crane accident occurred in September when a piston rod broke, causing the crane's boom to move downward and hit a wall, dumping steel rafters on the victim, the state Labor Department has ruled. Juan Jose Mayo Uyoa, 30, of Randleman, was crushed to death Sept. 16 at a Samet Corp. construction site in High Point. Neither Greensboro-based Samet nor Contract Erectors, the Randleman firm operating the crane, will be cited or fined because the rod is not something that's expected to be checked, the department said Friday. "It was not part of the maintenance routine," said Juan Santos, a department spokesman. A broken rod is rare, he said. Contract Erector Operations Manager Mark Stinson said the rod acts similar to a breaking system on a car and prevents the boom from moving up or down when working properly. The crane boom was lifting the five tons of rafters over a wall when the accident occurred. Santos said department investigators determined the rod was either worn and had broken before or during the accident. A Contract Erectors inspector reached the same conclusion after a separate inquiry, he said. The mishap was one of two deaths at the building site within three weeks. Charles Edward Weiss, 55, of Randleman, died Oct. 2 when police said he lost his balance and fell from the roof of the building. The building for Deep River West Co. was completed in December. Information from: High Point Enterprise
UPDATE, Company fined in double death Associated Press January 3, 2003 MERIDEN, Conn. -- The federal safety regulators have proposed a $10,850 fine against a New Haven company that employed two men who were electrocuted while washing bricks on a Meriden city building. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration Thursday proposed the fine against Milestone Restoration Inc. for violations of state standards including insufficient training in the use of a boom crane. Eugenio Torres, 47, and Hector Leon, 50, both of New Haven, were killed Oct. 2 while power washing the Stoddard Municipal Building. The two men were working in the bucket of a boom crane when they came in contact with high voltage wires running from the building. Representative of Milestone will meet with OSHA next week to discuss the violations. Milestone will have the options of paying the fines, reaching a settlement with OSHA or appealing the citations in court.
UPDATE, Lakeland Agrees To Pay Widow; City worker's estate gets largest settlement allowed without a suit. By Rick Rousos The Ledger LAKELAND -- The city of Lakeland will pay a $200,000 settlement to the family of Marc Moore, the city utility worker electrocuted on Aug. 26, attorneys said Friday. In exchange, Moore's family will waive its rights to sue the city. The $200,000 payment -- the most lucrative allowed under Florida law without a plea to the Legislature -will come from city coffers because Lakeland is self-insured. That money does not include $100,000 already paid to Moore's estate from the city's workers' compensation self-insurance fund. Four other utility workers were treated for minor injuries in the accident near Reynolds Road that killed the 31-year-old Moore, a special equipment operator. Moore was helping to install a 40foot utility pole when part of a crane hit a live wire, sending between 450 and 550 volts toward the damp ground. "This (settlement) at least puts the legal part of this tragedy behind us," City Attorney Tim McCausland told city commissioners Friday morning during an informal meeting. Commissioners are expected to approve the settlement Monday morning, without discussion. The item has been placed along with several others on what is called the consent agenda, meaning commissioners will vote on all of them at once, without debate. The settlement will be paid in the absence of a lawsuit, which would have been filed had the settlement not been reached. The $200,000 settlement was the most Tracy Moore could be paid by the city in a lawsuit settlement because of state limits on awards, known as sovereign immunity caps. Governments in Florida can be sued, but the Legislature has put limits on the amount of money plaintiffs can collect. The only way Tracy Moore could possibly have been paid more than the $200,000 was to take the case to trial and be awarded more by a jury. However, any award in excess of $200,000 would have required petitioning the Legislature for approval. "Bottom line, the odds were very high that litigation would have resulted in no additional recovery -- or $100,000 at best," Kent Lilly, Tracy Moore's attorney, said Friday. "Since the settlement permits retention of the workers' compensation benefits, the total of $300,000 is a bestcase scenario from a financial standpoint. "While the money doesn't come close to fairly and adequately compensating the Moore family for their tremendous loss, it's the best resolution possible . . ." Lilly said McCausland and the city have acted in good faith and shown considerable decency toward Tracy Moore and her two young sons. "They could have taken a whole different approach to this, especially with the workers' comp thing, and fought it till the cows came home -- but they didn't," Lilly said. "We would have had an uphill battle, not because of the facts of the case, but because of the caps." Also, soon after Moore's death, city commissioners voted to establish a $10,000 educational trust fund for each of the Moores' two young sons. Tracy Moore could not be reached Friday to comment. However, one of her main concerns since her husband's death has been seeing that the safety practices of the utility and its line workers improve. An investigative report prepared by J. B. Shepherd and Associates of Windermere criticized the workers' failure to follow established policies and procedures in the the accident. "They have assured me that they recognize internal problems, and they are correcting them," Lilly said. "It's important that they do better in protecting the guys that are still there." He said Tracy Moore keeps in touch with some linemen and has so far been satisfied that positive changes are being made.
UPDATE, Feds probe worker's death at railyard; OSHA seizes firm's records as Railway's safety comes under increasing scrutiny Thursday, December 26, 2002 By MICHAEL WAGNER STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has seized safety records from the Sunnyside-based construction company whose employee was killed last week as he worked on Staten Island Railway property. Safety records for a period of a year and a half were taken from the M. Ferrante Construction Co., a subcontractor working under Granite Halmar of Ossining, N.Y. Both companies were contracted by New York City Transit to install a $100 million signal upgrade on the Railway, a four-year project that has come under fire for being too ambitious and unnecessary on a two-track, enclosed, 14-mile passenger railroad. The move indicates a possible widening of the probe. OSHA authorities were unavailable for comment due to the Christmas holiday. Mensur Capa, 41, of Willowbrook was killed Thursday when the boom lift he was operating toppled over, crushing him under its heavy arm. After the incident, the city Buildings Department issued Ferrante a violation for "unsafe construction practices." In March, the firm was fined $46,800 by OSHA for eight previous violations. That fine was later reduced to $16,770 after a settlement was reached. Michael Ferrante, the firm's owner, did not return phone calls for comment. The news of the seizure came as rumors began circulating that Capa was not a union member. Marissa Baldeo, a Transit spokeswoman, disputed those rumors, noting the company is a union shop. However, the agency does not require its contractors to hire only union workers, she said. "We do require them to pay the union rate, though," she added. It is also still unclear if Capa was licensed to operate the machine. A Buildings Department spokeswoman said a permit was not required, but construction industry experts say OSHA mandates that all boom lift operators be licensed and properly trained. "There is a minimum training required, and you have to have the [certification] card in your pocket. It's a federal law," said R last night odney Mason, a construction safety coordinator in Ohio. "It's not something they can supersede." The equipment Capa was operating is called a "Pettibone" [for the company that makes it] all-terrain lift. The truck-like machine has four tractor-trailer-sized tires and a crane-like boom arm, which extends out in front of the vehicle. Capa was working on the building that once housed the Railway's substation. The structure is being converted into a new train dispatch and control center. The project -- which also includes new electrifying track switches and fiber-optic installations along the tracks -- is now moving into its third year. In what Transit officials are calling an unrelated move, Michael Downer, project manager on the signal upgrade, was moved to a new project the day before Capa's death. Criticism of the Railway's safety record is mounting. Earlier this month, a young woman's foot was caught in the door of a train as it left a station, dragging the 19-year-old for several feet. Railway employees have also questioned whether safety regulations are being followed by the contractors who work along the tracks. Michael Wagner covers transportation issues for the Advance.
Crane collapse kills construction worker The chain-reaction accident stuns the crew at the site of a South Natomas business park. By Ted Bell -- Bee Staff Writer In a dominolike chain of collapses that was over in seconds, a 44-year-old crane rigger was killed Thursday morning at a South Natomas business park site. Minutes after the tragedy in the Gateway Oaks business park off West El Camino Avenue, workers were in shock at the loss of one of their own, and stunned that only one member of the eight-man crew was struck by the huge crane boom when it toppled over. Woodland resident Mark Pease, the father of one, was a rigging foreman with Bragg Crane Service. He was standing next to a 35-foot prefabricated, concrete wall that was being moved into place by the 300-ton-capacity crane. Shortly before 10:30 a.m., the wall being moved hit another section already in place. The standing wall fell into the crane, causing more than 100 feet of the crane's boom to collapse. For several hours after the tragedy, dazed crane and construction workers stood near the mangled heavy steel boom pieces, shattered concrete and rebar. They talked softly among themselves in small group s until making way for firefighters who would eventually use cutting tools to free the body of their co-worker from the wreckage. "It was over in not much more than 10 seconds," said Larry Cabodi, site foreman for the Wentz Group, prime contractors for the 22,000-square-foot office building being built at 2515 Venture Oaks Way. "There was just no time to move. We are very, very lucky because no one else was killed. There were eight men there." Ron Kimes, a manager with Bragg Crane, declined to comment on the accident other than to say the cause was under investigation. Bragg, which is based in Long Beach, is one of the largest crane operators in the state and serves many construction sites in the Sacramento area. The company's investigation is one of the three that will be conducted. The California division of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, along with the Sacramento Police and Fire departments, also will look into the causes of the chain reaction. The prefab concrete walls are 12 inches thick and packed with rebar. They were being placed into position for what is often referred to as a "tilt-up" building. The building is being constructed in a rapidly rising area of new office buildings west of Interstate 5 and south of West El Camino Avenue. The building will house the California Correctional Peace Officers Association's benefit trust fund and is scheduled to be completed in March. According to a Cal-OSHA report covering the period between 1997 and 1999, there were 158 crane accidents in the state. Of those, 115, or 73 percent, involved mobile cranes like the one involved in Thursday's tragedy. Thirteen people were killed in those accidents, 12 of them non-crane operators, like Thursday's victim. In May 2001, one worker was killed and another injured when a section of a crane being leased by Bragg rolled off a flatbed truck at the construction site of the Hyatt hotel in Huntington Beach.
Workman electrocuted By Jerry Pratley A 33-YEAR-OLD man died and another was seriously injured after a crane installing a light pole hit 132,000-volt powerlines yesterday. The incident was at a new housing development near Hepburn Avenue and Giralt Road in Marangaroo. The name of the man who died has not been released. The injured man was taken by ambulance to hospital. Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union State secretary Kevin Reynolds claimed workers at the site said they believed the contractor was told the lines were not live. "There is no proof of that but that is what was being said by people on site," Mr Reynolds said. "It was around Christmas three years ago that we had exactly the same type of fatality happen when a crane hit powerlines. When is something going to be done?" Both firms involved in the work declined to comment. The firms were not working for Western Power, spokesman Peter Winner said. Power sometimes was switched off to wires when construction work was being done nearby but Western Power had not had any application in relation to the Marangaroo site. "Normally, when there is this type of work going on in the vicinity of high voltage power lines, Western Power is advised," he said. "But there is no record of Western Power being advised. "If we are advised that work is going on, we can either turn off the line or put some protective sleeves over the line so that if something like this occurs, it is the protection rather than the wires that are hit. "We turn off wires when we can accommodate it but today it would have been difficult because the demand for electricity is so high that we needed that line." The incident will be investigated by WorkSafe, the Office of Energy Safety and police. A review of WA Occupational Health and Safety laws by former Australian industrial relations commissioner Bob Laing that was tabled in Parliament two weeks ago recommended that negligent senior officers or company directors be held personally liable for serious injury or death on work sites. Mr Laing recommended that significantly bigger penalties, including jail terms. UnionsWA also has called for stiffer penalties, including jail.
Laborer crushed in construction accident By: JENNIFER FRANCIS PETERSBURG - A 23-year-old male construction worker was killed yesterday when he was crushed by a 2,000-pound concrete slab while working to demolish the old Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge. The man, whose name has not yet been released by authorities pending notification of family, was a member of a six-man demolition crew with R.R. Dawson Bridge Company LLC of Lexington, Ky., which was hired by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles to work the bridge project. Sgt. John Cannady, Sunday's daylight shift commander for the Petersburg Bureau of Police, said officials received a 911 call of a man injured by heavy equipment on the construction site around 11 a.m. When officers and emergency workers arrived, Cannady said, they found the victim on the ground and being given first aid by co-workers. He was pronounced dead at the scene. According to Cannady, the crew was working to move large slabs of concrete from the river to a pile on the shore where they had been demolishing the old bridge when the victim walked into the blind spot of the crane operator. The operator was in the process of releasing a slab of concrete from the crane's arm when he realized his co-worker was standing in the direct path of the debris. "By the time he realized the victim was standing there he had already let it go and it was too late to stop it," Cannady said. Officials estimated that the concrete slab which hit the man measured nearly the length of an automobile and weighed between 2,000 and 3,000 pounds. The crane operator immediately removed the slab from atop the victim and began efforts to revive him. Authorities said the worker operating the crane was one of the victim's family members, but were unable to release how the two were related. No criminal charges are expected in the incident. Officials with U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have been contacted and are investigating the death. The man's body has been sent to the state Medical Examiner's Office in Richmond for an autopsy. The results of the autopsy have not yet been returned to police. Sunday's incident was the first fatality or major accident at the Martin Luther King Bridge site since construction work first began on the new bridge two years ago. Demolition of the old bridge, which crosses the Appomattox River and connects downtown Petersburg to the Boulevard in Colonial Heights, began earlier this year. The $25 million project will replace the old bridge which was built in 1925 with a new, four-lane bridge. Construction of the new bridge began in February 2001. Earlier this year, traffic was shifted to the new bridge so that demolition could begin on the old structure. The project is not expected to be completed until sometime next year.
UPDATE, Rail car maker fined after accident Broadcast News Friday, November 29, 2002 TRENTON -- A Nova Scotia rail car maker has been fined after an employee was crushed in a workplace accident earlier this year. Trenton works must pay $27,500 after pleading guilty to one count under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The company admitted it failed to ensure a signaler was present to ensure the safe movement of a 50 ton overhead traveling crane. Last January, Kendrick Fraser, who was 11 months shy of retirement, was closing roof vents on the crane while a co-worker was operating the machinery. Something got caught and Fraser's upper body was pulled one way while his lower body went with the crane. He's now confined to a wheelchair, and may not walk again.
Trapped worker injured; now in critical condition A man was critically injured this morning after he became pinched by a crane near the ceiling of a Wichita manufacturing plant, officials said. The man freed himself and was sitting on a catwalk when rescuers found him, said fire Battalion Chief Dan McClure. A Fire Department heavy-rescue crew had to use ropes and a stretcher to lower the man about 20 feet, McClure said. The man appeared to have suffered a possible chest injury, had difficulty breathing and was in a great deal of pain, McClure said. The accident, in the 800 block of East Harry Street, was reported about 9:30 a.m. An ambulance departed with the injured man about 10:20 a.m.
One dead in water tower accident near Dallas Associated Press FRISCO -- One man was killed and another was critically injured today when a crane they were working on partially collapsed and they fell into an opening at the top of a 150-foot water tower, rescue officials said. The men fell 20 to 30 feet into the tower, then a portion of the broken crane fell in and hit one of the men, said Capt. Paul Siebert of the Frisco fire department. A 19-year-old employee of an independent contractor died, and a 29-year-old employee of the company was in critical condition. Names of the men and the company weren't immediately available. It was unclear which man was hit by the portion of the crane, Siebert said. The men were extracted with another crane, then the 19-year-old was airlifted to Parkland Hospital in Dallas. The 29-year-old was taken to Parkland by ambulance. The water tower is located in a still-undeveloped area on the northern fringe of the rapidly developing suburb. Large-scale construction is visible all over Frisco, which has a population of about 50,000 and is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States, according to the 2000 census. In addition to widespread road work and housing construction, the city is building a sprawling sports complex that includes a minor-league ballpark and the new headquarters for the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars. Growth in Frisco and nearby Plano helped Collin County outpace Texas' 253 other counties in the past decade, according to Census 2000 figures. Frisco grew 450 percent in the '90s and could become home to as many as 300,000 residents by 2020, officials predict.
UPDATE, Worker's error caused fatal fall, official says By John Ellement, Globe Staff, 11/26/2002 A Tewskbury man killed in a fall while hanging Christmas lights on Waltham Common had failed to properly secure all stabilizing parts, a Waltham Fire Department official said yesterday. ''It was an accident, and it appears to be operator error,'' Waltham Deputy Fire Chief Richard Cardillo said in a telephone interview yesterday. Dennis O'Neil, a 38-year-old father of two, was in the bucket of a cherry picker, installing Christmas lights on the Waltham Common, when he fell about 50 feet to the ground, officials said. O'Neil was working for Brite-Lite Electrical Co. of Weymouth. The company issued a press release yesterday saying it was ''saddened'' by O'Neil's death and that it was cooperating with investigators in the fatal accident. ''We are saddened by the tragic loss of our employee and friend,'' the company said in its statement. ''Our thoughts and prayers are with Dennis's family.'' The company did not return a telephone call seeking comment on the preliminary finding that the accident was caused by operator error. ''We are currently working with investigators to determine the cause of this accident,'' the company said in its statement. Cardillo said the truck has outriggers that are supposed to stick out 6 to 8 feet from the sides of the truck and provide stability while the cherry picker is operated. ''The outriggers were down, but not extended,'' Cardillo said. Cardillo said Brite-Lite rented the truck from Colvin's Aerial Trucks in Waltham. A Colvin company official said the firm could not comment about the accident until the investigation is complete. Cardillo and Waltham Police Detective Sergeant Timothy King said the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration will be the main investigative agency. King said the truck has been impounded for the investigation. Waltham officials could not be reached for comment. A lighting ceremony on the Common is scheduled for Friday, according to the city's Web site.
Worker killed hanging Waltham holiday lights: Cause of early morning truck topple unknown By Norman Miller WALTHAM -- A Tewksbury man with a 3-week-old infant and three other children died yesterday when the cherry picker he was using to put up Christmas lights on Waltham Common crashed to the ground. Dennis O'Neil, 38, was declared dead at the scene after the 7:36 a.m. accident, officials said. "He just celebrated his (fifth) wedding anniversary Friday," said Chris Paquette, O'Neil's brother-in-law. "He has a newborn girl. He was a very good dad." According to Police Detective Sgt. Tim King, O'Neil was in a bucket hanging Christmas lights for Friday's lighting celebration. When the vehicle tipped, O'Neil crashed down about 60 feet, King said. The cause of the accident is unknown, and being investigated by the police and fire departments, as well as the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, King said. WB-TV Channel 56 showed a support arm on the side of O'Neil's cherry picker broken through a piece of plywood set on the ground to support it. The arm had sunk into the ground about two feet. It was not clear if that caused the accident or was a result of it. The accident was witnessed by several cab drivers and bus patrons at the nearby train station. "I had turned for a moment and then I heard `Oh (expletive)' and a big crash that sounded like a car accident," said cabbie Bill Scarlett. "I looked over and he was spread over backwards still inside the cherry picker." Witnesses said the truck was parked sideways on a slope on the grassy common. O'Neil was near the top of a tree along Carter Street. O'Neil worked for Brite Lite Electrical of Weymouth, which the city has hired for the past several years to hang holiday lights. Representatives from the company could not be reached yesterday. Waltham Fire Chief Thomas Keough said whether the cherry picker's stabilizers were set up properly is under investigation. "There's only two categories (in which) something like this could happen, either equipment failure or operator error," Keough said. "Any fatality is hard to accept, any trauma is hard to accept, especially this time year," Keogh said, nodding toward firefighters and police. "It's overwhelming for some of these men." Workers spent two weeks hanging thousands of lights on the mammoth maple and oak trees behind city hall. City officials called O'Neil's death tragic. "The prayers and thoughts of the entire Waltham community are with the family," said Mayor David Gately. "Obviously, this is a terrible accident. We are all saddened by this accident. It's a very difficult time for the family. It certainly does put a damper on the holiday season." City Councilor Bob Kelly said, "It's just a tragic accident. Obviously our thoughts are with his family right now, and I think we should take some time to be mindful of his family, rather than any plans for our celebration." As he wiped away tears, Paquette stood on the common where his brother-in-law had been pronounced dead a few hours earlier. "He does all sorts of work," said Paquette. "He's very energetic."
UPDATE, A frustrating recovery By DEBORAH M. MARKO Staff Writer WOODSTOWN -- Four weeks have passed since a rusted steel I-beam pinned construction worker Jim Collins inside his excavator at a Main Road/Chestnut Avenue work site. While Collins doesn't recall much about the freak accident that nearly cost him five fingers, he'll never forget the yellow-jacketed firefighters who scrambled to his aid. The weeks have sped by in a swirl of surgeries, rehabilitation and doctor consultations since a makeshift platoon of 60 rescuers pried Collins free from the cab. The active 27-year-old isn't taking convalescence well. His mindset vacillates between thankfulness at retaining his hand to frustration at not being able to use it fully. "I'm pretty bull-headed," he said, grinning when his girlfriend, Caryl Doble, doesn't disagree. "I want to regain full use of it." At his Woodstown home, Collins showed off his medical miracle -- pieced together with surgical pins, stitches and scar tissue. "I can't feel my fingers," he said, gently tapping the fingertips extending beyond a Velcro cat. Collins can move his index finger and thumb despite frayed nerves and severed tendons, but he can't force them into a pinch. Each day, Collins chalks up another achievement, like wrestling a sock onto his foot. A lefty, Collins now writes using his right hand, estimating his penmanship could pass for a fourth-grader's. He hasn't mastered the dual controls of his PlayStation 2, but he's great on the television remote control. "It's a guy thing," Doble jokes. Collins puts up a brave front despite his physical wounds. He also carries emotional scars that make it difficult to sleep. He doesn't see the accident in his dreams -- he hears it. "I'm know I'm lucky," Collins said. "But I would have rather won the lottery." Collins tried to reach his cell phone when he realized he was trapped -- but couldn't. There was nothing to do but wave and yell to the steady stream of rush hour traffic on Main Road, including a school bus full of youngsters "They hollered and waved back," he said. But one woman noticed Collins' distress. "She made a U-turn and pulled in," Collins said, also remembering an off-duty police officer who called 911. The female Samaritan asked what Collins needed and ran across the street to get him a drink. Rescuers who hooked Collins up to a morphine drip promptly confiscated the bottled water, anticipating pending surgery. Collins didn't realize his dire straits until a rescue front-end loader arrived with a police escort. "I thought, 'This isn't good,'" he said. Collins wanted someone to call his girlfriend. He thought she might suspect he was AWOL with the guys. He wanted her to know he had a very good reason for being late. Doble wouldn't learn his fate until Collins was on a helicopter headed to Cooper Hospital University Medical Center in Camden. She raced there, but Collins was in surgery when she arrived. Though doctors warned her Collins could lose his hand, the prognosis brightened after four-surgeries. The Samaritan visited the hospital to check his condition, but Collins said he was too medicated to thank her and hopes she gets the message. Now it's up to Doble to keep track of Collins' appointments. Appointment cards cram his wallet like a set of medical trading cards. "I don't know what I would do without her," he said. He may never have to know. The couple had been planning a quiet holiday wedding. In fact, Doble was looking at wedding bands the day before the accident. A ring isn't going to fit on Collins' finger at the moment, so they're going to wait. "I'm just glad he's alive," Doble said. Collins teases his commitment is just as strong. He jokes that his near-severed fingers were a romantic gesture, in the same vein as the artist who gave his ear for love. "She didn't like my Van Gogh," said Collins with a shrug.
UPDATE, Firm could be fined for death of Gardners man William Lowery Jr. died Monday in a construction accident in Lancaster County. By BRETT LOVELACE A state official said Tuesday a Cumberland County steel fabrication company could be fined $70,000 for possible safety violations that might have contributed to Monday's death of a construction worker at Warwick High School in Lancaster County. Inspectors for the state Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Tuesday visited the Lititz construction site where the 22-year-old worker from Gardners was fatally injured when he was struck on the head by a 30-foot, 900-pound steel beam. Inspectors interviewed witnesses and reviewed safety measures used by Landis Inc., of Mount Holly Springs, according to Bob Fink, who supervises OSHA's Harrisburg field office. "Landis (Inc.) has a history of safety-related violations," Fink said. "They've been fined before." William Lowery Jr. was pronounced dead at Lancaster General Hospital shortly after 1:30 p.m. Monday. His company is helping to build a new addition at the high school. Initial reports indicated Lowery was standing on a steel girder about 20 feet above the ground when the beam struck him. It was later determined Lowery was on the ground when a crane harness carrying the beam malfunctioned. The beam fell and struck Lowery. An autopsy Tuesday determined Lowery died from massive head trauma, according to Dr. Barry Walp, Lancaster County coroner. Lowery's wife, Elizabeth, gave birth to the couple's first child in October. A woman who answered the phone at the Lowery home Tuesday said the family had no comment. Fink said Lowery is not the first Landis Inc. employee to die in an accident at a construction site. In January 1997, a worker was killed at a construction site in Middletown, Dauphin County. The man fell 26 feet onto a concrete floor after losing his balance while carrying steel products across a steel beam, Fink said. OSHA fined Landis Inc. $14,000 for not providing proper fall protection at the construction site, Fink said. "The fine amount was based on the fact that Landis had already been cited for safety violations within three years of the fatal accident," Fink said. "If a third violation is found this time, the fine could reach $70,000." Fink said OSHA's investigation should be completed in about two months. Landis Inc. officials did not return a phone message left Tuesday at their Mount Holly Springs office. Since 1990, OSHA has conducted nine inspections at the company's steel fabrication shop in Mount Holly Springs and at various construction sites where the company had jobs. "A wide variety of safety violations were discovered during several of the inspections," Fink said. "Some violations were corrected, but others were not." Warwick superintendent Stephen A. Iovino said Lobar Inc. of Dillsburg is the general contractor for the $29.3 million addition to the high school. The general contractor is responsible for choosing subcontractors, such as Landis Inc. "Lobar has used Landis Inc. on a number of school building projects, including Cedar Cliff and Northern York," Iovino said. "They've never had any problems with accidents." Construction of a new auditorium, science classrooms, district administrative offices, guidance offices and a health room and the redesign of the existing auditorium into classrooms is expected to be completed in February.
Spanish sailors killed in dock accident Two Spanish sailors were killed when fierce winds toppled a crane which then knocked them off a gang-plank and into a dry dock, a Defence Ministry spokesman said. The sailors were working on the aircraft carrier Principe de Asturias in the southern Spanish port of Cadiz where gales reached 80 kilometres an hour. "Due to the strong winds a crane hit the gang-plank (where they were standing) and they fell onto the dock," the spokesman said. On Wednesday cranes at construction sites in two Spanish cities fell over during high winds. Three people including a pregnant woman were killed when a 25-metre crane crashed through the roof of an apartment block.
Crane accidents kill three in Spain MADRID, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Cranes toppled over in two Spanish cities on Wednesday, killing three people including a pregnant woman on a day of high winds and heavy rain. In the first accident, the pregnant woman was killed when a 25-metre (80-foot) crane smashed through the roof of a five-storey apartment block in the town of Santurce, near the Basque city Bilbao. "I thought it was a bomb, of course. I didn't think it could be anything else," a woman who lives nearby told state television. Police said the cause of the accident was unknown. Later in La Coruna in the northwest corner of Spain, two women were killed in a similar incident, possibly due to fierce winds, a spokesman for the municipal government said. He gave no further details.
UPDATE, Workers Trying To Recover Submerged Crane, No One Injured In Crane Mishap November 12, 2002 KITTERY, Maine -- The construction company Cianbro says it's mobilizing equipment to salvage the upper section of a crane that toppled into the Piscataqua River near the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. No one was injured in Sunday's accident, which is being blamed on a failure in a floating crane used to carry the 117-ton crane section onto a barge. Cianbro says it's trying to determine what caused the largest barge-mounted crane in Maine to fail. The accident punctured the floating crane's fuel tank, spilling up to 175 gallons of diesel into the river. Oil containment booms were placed in the area.
School Construction Worker Killed By Falling Beam, Beam Slips Out Of Harness November 12, 2002 LANCASTER, Pa. -- A 900-pound steel beam crushed a construction worker at Warwick High School in Lancaster County Monday. William Lowery, 22, of Gardeners, Adams County, was killed when the 30-foot beam slipped out of its harness as it was being lifted, according to News 8. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating. The accident happened in an area where no students or faculty are allowed.
Crane section topples into river near shipyard Monday, November 11, 2002 KITTERY, Maine (AP) -- The upper section of a large crane that was being dismantled for salvage toppled into the Piscataqua River on Sunday near the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. No one was injured in the 4:30 p.m. accident, which occurred as a floating crane operated by Cianbro Corp. was being used to load the salvaged section onto a barge for transit, said Alan Robinson, a spokesman for the shipyard. It was not immediately clear what caused the operating crane to malfunction. The accident punctured the crane's fuel tank, spilling up to 175 gallons of diesel fuel into the river. A containment boom was set out in an attempt to recover the spillage. Officials said the submerged salvage crane's upper section did not pose a hazard to navigation.
Crews to pluck crane from lake By KEITH KINNAIRD SANDPOINT - People call on crane contractor Charlie Kramer when they need boats or equipment plucked from North Idaho's lakes and rivers. But Kramer had to call on himself last week when his barge-mounted crawler crane capsized on Lake Pend Oreille at Lakeview. A crew from CE Kramer Crane & Contracting was working on Bonner County Waterways project to replace public docks on Thursday. When the crew returned on Friday, the crane was submerged in about 35 feet of water and the barge it had been sitting on was capsized. It remains unclear what caused the barge to tip over, though Kramer suspects a section of the barge broke and took on water, dumping the crane into the water. A dive team recovered a portable welder and some tools that were also on the barge, but the crane remains submerged. Kramer hopes to retrieve it sometime this week using another crane and a large winch cat. "It may be fixable, but we'll have to see when we get it out," Kramer said Thursday. A hazardous materials team set up a containment bo om to confine fuel from the welder and crane, said Sheriff's Sgt. Bob Howard, director of Bonner County Emergency Services. "There's not much as far as volume. We're just trying to contain what's there," he said. Crews estimated the crane's fuel tank had about 10 gallons of fuel in it, Howard said. The sealed tank was almost empty, according to Kramer. The portable welder also had fuel in it. Crews were working on a $127,600 project funded through an Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation grant. The projects involves replacing a floating dock and installing a breakwater. The crane's boom damaged part of the floating dock, but Bonner County Public Works Director Tim Elsea said Kramer's insurance will cover the damage.
Luffing crane boom crash, workers safe Adrian David KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 7: Several workers miraculously escaped unhurt when the boom of a luffing crane undertaking the construction of the Taipan Star commercial-cum-service apartments in Jalan P. Ramlee collapsed, today. The building, which is just behind Shangri-la Hotel and the Kuala Lumpur Tower, will have a 25-storey block of 48 service apartments, an 18-storey commercial office block, basement mechanical carparks, a swimming pool and a recreation centre when complete. Several workers, who declined to be identified, said that the boom appeared to have sustained metal fatigue as it crumbled under the load of its construction material from the 17th floor to the 11th floor, at about 9am. Police sealed off the road junctions between Jalan Sultan Ismail-Jalan P. Ramlee and Jalan P.Ramlee-Jalan Tengah-Jalan Menara KL as a precautionary measure. The crane sits on the 17th storey of the building under construction and the boom snapped as it crashed onto the 11th floor, leaving part of the boom dangling at about 50m high. The project is undertaken by Sin Heap Lee Construction and managed by Integrated Management Corporation Sdn Bhd for Taipan Star Sdn Bhd. Work on the project was stopped temporarily to facilitate investigations by the project undertaker and the Department of Occupational Safety and Health.
Crane Crashes Onto Police Building; Officials Report Building Damage, No Injuries November 6, 2002 CARROLTON, Texas -- A crane tipped over and crashed onto the roof of the Carrolton Police Department building Wednesday. Department officials said that no one was hurt, but the building was damaged. However, there was no immediate repair estimate. Air-conditioning repair crews had been using the crane for repairs to the department's cooling system when the accident happened, officials said. Investigators with the city's risk management team were looking into the cause of the accident, officials said. According to the department, the crane, which was operated by Irving-based Crocker Crane, tipped onto the building at about 10 a.m.
Crane Accident Traps Operator In Cab Nov. 5 — A crane operator escaped serious injury in a freak accident on the Peninsula this morning when a construction crane overturned. It happened in Foster City, at the intersection of Foster City boulevard and Hillsdale Boulevard. The Foster City fire department hasn't determined how a 100-foot construction crane overturned. The crane operator was taken to the hospital suffering from cuts and back pain. He was trapped inside the cab for about 40 minutes.
Three workers die as crane falls on drydocks Dubai | By Sunita Menon and Mona Al Khanjare | 04/11/2002 Three workers died yesterday when the boom crane they were working on at Dubai Drydocks fell into the empty dock. A Dubai Police official said: "The crane was moving the workers from one place to another when it fell. Two of them came down with it and died, while one lost his balance and fell to his death from the crane. Police are investigating the cause." "Two Indians and one Pakistani were the victims. They are a 53-year-old Indian, a 30-year-old Pakistani and a 39-year-old Indian," he said. Indian Consulate officials said that they are yet to get permission to go to the drydocks.
Accident Injures Road Worker; Tractor-Trailer Reportedly Skims Equipment November 4, 2002 ROSEVILLE, Mich.-- A Macomb County road worker was seriously injured after an accident in Roseville Monday morning. The 37-year-old worker was working on a traffic light at Little Mack and Masonic. He was extended on a crane when it was hit by a tractor-trailer heading south on Little Mack, which skimmed the bucket and knocked him out of it, according to Roseville police. The worker reportedly was strapped to the equipment and did not suffer life-threatening injuries. He was taken to Mount Clemens General Hospital. Police said that the road commission did not ask them for assistance in conducting traffic in the area. No other injuries were reported. Local 4 reported that traffic is being detoured around the intersection and drivers should avoid the area if possible. Stay with ClickOnDetroit.com and Local First News for the latest developments.
UPDATE, Watervliet company cited by Labor Department Watervliet steel products manufacturer ALTX Inc. has been cited by the U.S. Labor Department for allegedly exposing employees to potential falls, crushing accidents, electrocution hazards and unguarded machinery. The citation follows a crane accident in August in which an employee was killed. As part of the citation, the Labor Department proposed a $71,000 fine. ALTX has 15 business days to respond. Officials with ALTX did not return two phone calls for comment. The company can either show they have complied and pay the fine, try to set up a conference with OSHA officials that could result in a settlement with a lower fine, or inform the Labor Department that it is contesting the citation, which would start a litigation process. Until there is a settlement the fine is not final. Alleged violations include oil or hydraulic fluid on floors and crane bridges at the plant at 201 Spring St. in Watervliet. Other violations include improperly guarded floor openings, failure to keep aisles leading to exits clean and a lack of eyewash stations where corrosive materials were used, according to the Labor Department.
UPDATE, Pinned by steel beam, construction worker weathers traumatic injury By DEBORAH M. MARKO Staff Writer VINELAND -- James Collins, a construction worker pinned in his backhoe by a steel beam, is recovering after leaving Cooper Hospital University Medical Center Wednesday. Collins, 27, of Woodstown spent four days at the Camden trauma center after more than 60 area rescuers worked more than two hours to free him Friday, Oct. 18. Hospital officials would not release details of his condition and he could not be reached by phone. The city Fire Department contacted the Occupational Safety and Health Administration regarding the incident, according to a supplemental police report. Collins was working for Monarch Environmental Inc. of Woodstown. The firm is charged with razing the former Coastal gas station to make way for a new CVS and Commerce Bank on Chestnut Avenue and Main Road. Robert Shrader, the company owner, told police Collins was only supposed to fill the holes where the fuel tanks once were and clear away the metal flashing. Shrader told police Collins was not supposed to demolish the gas station canopy, which led to the steel I beam trapping him inside the front-end loader.
Falling crane kills worker PETALING JAYA: A construction worker was killed when a crane collapse on him as he was tying iron rods to its hook, in Damansara on Monday. Lim Meng Kion, 43, from Labu in Negri Sembilan, suffered severe head injuries during the 5pm mishap. His colleagues escaped unhurt. Police do not suspect foul play. Lim’s remains were sent to the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre for a post mortem. In another incident, police detained a motorcyclist who attacked a policeman at a roadblock near the Selayang wholesale market on Monday. The 39-year-old suspected drug addict, who was riding a stolen motorcycle, became aggressive and took out a stick to attack the policeman when he was flagged down at the roadblock. The policeman suffered facial injuries and received out-patient treatment. Sentul OCPD Asst Comm Ayob Mohamed said police recovered a knife from the suspect who had 13 previous convictions.
Bridge closed after crane collapses Canadian Press MARGAREE HARBOUR, N.S. (CP) - A bridge on Nova Scotia's Cabot Trail was closed to traffic Wednesday after a construction accident. The Transportation Department said a crane collapsed and the boom fell on the Margaree Harbour Bridge. The crane operator got out safely and no one was hurt. Fletcher Laurence, who runs a nearby general store, said there were several motorists in the area at the time, but they avoided injury. He said the bridge is now sagging. Traffic was detoured and there was no word on how long it would take to repair the damage. The crane was being used to build a new bridge over the Margaree River.
UPDATE, Injured worker stable after rescue from fallen debris From Press staff reports VINELAND - A 29-year-old contractor remained hospitalized in stable condition Monday after being pinned in the cab of his front-end loader by a fallen steel beam three days earlier, officials said. James Collins, of Woodstown, was working Friday at the site of the former Coastal Gas Station at Main Road and Chestnut Avenue, which is being demolished to make way for a new CVS Pharmacy and Commerce Bank. Collins was manning his front-end loader when, shortly after 4 p.m., a steel I-beam fell from the old service station, crashed through his windshield and pinned his hand to the wall of the cab, police said. Rescue workers spent the next two hours removing the beam and pulling Collins from the vehicle. He then was airlifted to Cooper Health System in Camden, where he was listed in stable condition Monday, according to a nursing supervisor. Collins' employer, Woodstown-based Monarch Environmental owner Robert Shrader, told police Collins was supposed to be filling holes at the site where fuel tanks had been removed, and not demolishing the gas station canopy - which caused the beam to fall.
Rescuers free trapped worker, Foreman stable after two-hour extrication By DEBORAH M. MARKO VINELAND -- Monarch Environmental foreman Jim Collins was less than 15 minutes from quitting time Friday when a plummeting steel beam slammed through his backhoe's windshield, pinning him to his seat. For more than two hours, about 60 area rescuers executed a meticulous plan to free Collins, whose hand was pinned between the rusted beam and the cab's door. He was listed in stable condition Friday at Cooper Hospital University Medical Center in Camden. Collins spent the past week dismantling the former Coastal gas station on Main Road and Chestnut Avenue, which is making way for a new CVS and Commerce Bank. The Woodstown resident was working on the gas pump canopy at 4:15 p.m. when the T-shaped beam crashed down. He remained conscious and alert, wanting to know what was going on around him, said Al Lincks, chief of the city's Emergency Medical Service. Despite his injury, Collins tried to free himself before help arrived but the beam's weight made it impossible for him to shift the control stick, Lincks said. It wasn't long before rescuers flocked to the scene. Brian Dunn of the city's Public Works Department was leaving a road paving project when he saw the commotion. He raced the city's front-end loader down Main Road to clear debris at the site. "I got a police escort," he said. But before rescuers could free Collins, they had to stabilize the beam, said Acting Fire Chief Pete Finley. They wanted to avoid further injury to Collins while not jeopardizing the safety of rescue crews. "I'm not dead," 27-year-old Collins shouted to onlookers circling the rescue site's perimeter. Moments later, he could be seen waving over helmets of emergency response teams working to stabilize the beam. Butch Garton, a lieutenant with Fire Company No. 2, had a crane rushed to the site. Forsaking his usual rescue tools, he delicately maneuvered the crane's skyhook to aerially support the beam. His firefighting colleagues, assisted by Millville's Tactical Rescue team, erected cribbing under it. The beam was cut to make it more manageable. But it shifted against Collins' hand, causing him to cry out in pain. It was the only time he expressed any visible sign of discomfort. "He's tough," said Lincks, who hung off the side of the cab talking and tending to Collins during the lengthy extrication effort. During the rescue's second hour, Collins asked emergency workers to cover his hand so he couldn't see it, which they did. A firefighter helmet was placed over Collins' blond head as the beam was finally pulled from the cab. He told rescuers he hoped he didn't lose his job, which he has held for about three years, according to a company spokesman. Collins was lowered onto a stretcher, rushed to a waiting ambulance that raced him across Chestnut Avenue to the South Star medical evacuation helicopter waiting at Veterans Memorial School. It took off, joining a news helicopter that circled the site. As Collins headed to the trauma unit of Cooper Hospital, there were handshakes and back pats to the rescuers for a job well done. Then Fire Company No. 4 Assistant Chief Pat Finley reminded the crew they were scheduled to be elsewhere. "Isn't tonight the fireman dinner?" he said, remembering the Vineland Chamber of Commerce was hosting a dinner at the Ramada Inn to acknowledge the heroic efforts of the fire department. Responders to the scene included Fire Companies No. 4 and 6, the Emergency Medical Service, Underwood Memorial Paramedics, Millville's Tactical Rescue Unit, the city's Public Works Department and the South Star helicopter.
Two injured in crane accident near capitol building We have breaking news for you this afternoon. Two people are reportedly in stable condition after a crane accident near the State Capitol building. At this time we one know that at least one of the victims fell at least 12 feet and the fire department is using ladder trucks to bring the two men down. Again the two men are in stable condition, and NewsChannel-4 will follow this story through out the day.
Another Bridge Construction Accident At the Site of the New Cooper River Bridge By Karen Grace Oct 16, 2002 There's been another construction accident at a Lowcountry bridge. Around noon, crews lost control of a crane at the site of the new Cooper River Bridge. Palmetto Bridge Construction workers were dissambling the crane in order to move it. But a section of the boom fell about two feet. The boom was damaged, and luckily the crane was not. There also were no injuries. The South Carolina Department of Transportation plans to investigate. Some workers feel a little more training on the job could not hurt. "The boom came crashing down and messed up two sections of the boom, this time no one was killed," said John Lambert, a witness. "It will certainly be a report made on the incident," said Booby Clair, the director of engineering for SCDOT. "Thats part of preventing future accidents to make sure that happened today won't happen again." Work has resumed on the bridge. Count on 2 for the latest on the Cooper River Bridge Project.
Crane Falls at Boone Hospital Columbia, 10/16/2002 Construction crews are working to clean up a crane accident at Boone Hospital in Columbia. The Columbia Fire Department says the crane gave way Tuesday afternoon. It slammed into the north side of the hospital building. “We don't know exactly what caused it, but the crane was lifting roofing material and slipped off its supports,” says Boone Hospital Spokesman Lynn Hostetler. No one was hurt, and the building sustained only minor damage. The eastbound lanes of Broadway are open this morning. They were closed yesterday so crews could clean up the site.
Daring rescue on tower crane By Linda Piper THREE firefighters and a paramedic spent nearly two hours 65 feet up a tower crane rescuing an injured man on Monday. The 38-year-old man fell as he was climbing up the crane on the Wimpey Homes building site at Chandlers Wharf, in West Street, Erith. The construction worker with Falcon Cranes slipped on the crane ladder and fell about six feet onto a platform, injuring his arm and shoulder. The emergency services were alerted and first on the scene was paramedic Steve Berry, from Barnehurst ambulance station, who immediately climbed up to help the injured man. Firefighters from Erith arrived and realised there was no way of getting the injured man down under his own steam. As blankets and a cylinder of pain relief gas were winched up to Mr Berry, Erith's White Watch called for a turntable ladder from the Old Kent Road and the fire rescue unit from East Ham. Mr Berry told News Shopper: "It was very cold and windy. The man was in shock and in a lot of pain and was in danger of losing consciousness." Erith firefighter Andy Thirkettle helped to secure the injured man to stop him from falling. Mr Berry became so concerned about the man's condition he called in the HEMS air ambulance to assist. A doctor onboard gave him advice as they waited to be rescued. All of them were hampered by the fact the platform they were working on was only 4ft by 18in. The turntable ladder, with a "bucket" stretcher was extended into place but Mr Thirkettle, Erith colleague Keith Pick and a firefighter from East Ham were still unable to get to the injured man. They had to dismantle part of the platform so the man could be helped into the stretcher and lowered to the ground. The man was treated on the ground before being taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich for treatment. "Given all the difficulties, the rescue went as smoothly as clockwork," said Mr Berry.
Tree-Trimmer Dies After 30-Foot Fall; Tree-Trimming Bucket Drops With Man Inside POSTED: 11:45 a.m. CDT October 17, 2002 HORICON, Wis. -- A 44-year-old man died after a tree-trimming bucket he was in fell 30 feet. Scott Weisensel, of rural Beaver Dam, was trimming a 60-foot black walnut tree in the back yard of Robert Splinter, at noon Wednesday when a mechanical malfunction caused the bucket to drop rapidly, Horicon Police Chief Douglas Glamann said Thursday. Weisensel was thrown from the bucket and later died at Beaver Dam Community Hospital, Glamann said. Weisensel's co-worker George Rawson said the vehicle, owned by Beaver Tree Service, had been certified two weeks earlier. It was impounded by the Horicon Police Department. The accident was being investigated by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration.
Workers exposed to radiation at St. Lucie plant By Deborah Circelli, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer October 15, 2002 A nuclear fuel containment building at the St. Lucie Nuclear Plant had to be evacuated last week as workers replaced a piece of monitoring equipment. Six contractors were exposed to a "low dose" of radiation during the Oct. 7 incident, which occurred during routine maintenance of one of the reactor units, Florida Power & Light Co. officials said Monday. The evacuation came a day after 28 workers were exposed to radioactive particles released when two other workers were pressure-cleaning a reactor head during a safety procedure newly ordered by federal regulators. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has been notified of both incidents. The NRC said Friday it was reviewing the Oct. 6 incident, but officials could not be reached Monday to comment about the Oct. 7 incident. Officials at FPL, the subsidiary of Juno Beach-based FPL Group that operates the St. Lucie plant, said it is not unusual for workers to be exposed to radiation during a "refueling outage," the name of the procedure being performed Oct. 7. Such maintenance is conducted every 18 months on the reactors. FPL spokeswoman Rachel Scott said the workers were exposed to radiation while replacing a piece of equipment called the incore, which monitors the reactors' power level. A crane is used to lift the incore, which is immersed in water along with the nuclear fuel. During the Oct. 7 incident, the incore came too close to the surface of the water, signaling an automatic alarm and an evacuation of the containment building. Scott said workers were using a new crane that was unable to correctly maneuver the incore, which is replaced every five years. Four workers and two health technicians were exposed to 20 to 25 millirems of radiation each. On Sunday, the 28 workers were exposed to 1 to 2 millirems of radiation apiece. Scott said that it is not unusual for a person working on the reactor to get up to 1,000 millirems during refueling, depending on the job. The annual exposure limit for nuclear workers is 5,000 millirems, the NRC said. "We try to minimize exposure and keep it as low as reasonably achievable," Scott said Monday.
Worker Injured In Crane Collapse Near State Capitol UPDATED - Friday October 11, 2002 6:18pm Oklahoma City (AP) - Two people were injured today when a 30-foot section of a construction crane collapsed near the state Capitol. Witnesses said the crane's boom collapsed at 3:10 p-m behind the Oklahoma Historical Society headquarters. The boom's wreckage fell on top of an annex that is under construction, injuring two workers. Officials say the injuries are NOT life threatening. Oklahoma City firefighters used a ladder to remove the injured workers. Their names weren't immediately available. A concrete bucket that was attached to the end of the boom detached and fell through a breezeway at the site. No one was in the breezeway at the time. The Historical Society building and annex is slated to become the new home of the state Supreme Court.
Miracle escape as girders fall off crane BY JON TUNNEY, October 11, 2002 11:41 WORKMEN at the new TXU headquarters had a miraculous escape after steel girders plummeted from a snapped crane cable. A 21-year-old man was taken to hospital after the girders crashed onto his lorry, flipping him on to the ground. But, incredibly, he escaped with only minor injuries and was back working on the site the next day. The accident happened during work being carried out by construction firm Carters on the car park at the state-of-the-art £35million Russell Road site. An ambulance rushed to the scene at about 2.20pm on Thursday - a spokeswoman confirmed a 21-year-old man had been taken to hospital. But Carters site official Peter Brightey confirmed the worker was back on the site and that building work would carry on as normal. He said: "The crane is lifting steel as we speak. It was just one of those unfortunate things that happen." Health and Safety Executive officials mounted an immediate investigation. TXU spokesman Christian Judge said initial findings from the investigation showed it was an accident. He said: "Following the incident an immediate investigation was instigated. "The HSE were informed and their preliminary findings show the persons involved were properly qualified and all the equipment was within the certified limits. "More importantly, we understand the gentleman was not seriously injured, which is the primary concern. "No injury can be taken lightly - even if it's a just a graze it's too much."
UPDATE, Men dangling from bridge rescued, 3 men had been working in bucket of utility truck By: AMY REININK, Staff Writer October 10, 2002 CAMBRIDGE - Firefighters and others spent more than an hour Wednesday morning rescuing three State Highway Administration employees who were stranded in the bucket of a utility truck that tipped sideways at the edge of the Frederick C. Malkus Jr. Bridge. The three men had been working in a bucket of a utility truck beneath the bridge during a routine inspection of the span, SHA officials said. A fourth man was in the cab of the truck, when the truck somehow lost stability about 10:15 a.m. and the bucket rapidly dropped. The cab smashed against the side of the bridge, lying directly on its side and anchored to a light post, which was tilted at an angle by the truck. The men in the bucket, who were secured by safety harnesses, hung for about an hour before they shimmied down a rope they were able to tie to the utility bucket. The rope was thrown to them from a Natural Resources Police boat positioned underneath their precarious perch. Fishermen and walkers on the adjacent fishing pier were joined by curious people who came to watch the rescue operation. About a dozen people watched from the fishing pier. They cheered and clapped as each worker slid down the rope to safety. People also watched the rescue operation from the Choptank shoreline. Some used binoculars to get a better view. Jody Allan Ferris, 38, of Odenton, who was operating the crane from the cab of the truck, was flown to Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury and was treated and released from its emergency department, hospital officials said. The three men in the bucket - Warren Williams Jr., 38, of Annapolis; David Saumenig, 29, of Glen Burnie and Francis Kerrick, 50, of Churchton - were brought to Dorchester General Hospital here for minor injuries, emergency workers said. All three men were treated and released, a hospital spokesman said. Both Rescue Fire Co. and the Oxford Volunteer Fire Co. had rescue boats in the water. Also assisting were Cambridge Police, Maryland State Police and SHA employees. The rescue operation was complete by 11:30 a.m. But then there was the matter of righting the truck and removing it from the highway. Jesse Jr.'s largest wrecker, used to tow tractor-trailers, was enlisted for the task. Shortly after 1 p.m. the wrecker towed the truck off the bridge. Within 20 minutes, traffic was rolling again. Both sides of the bridge were closed until 1:30 p.m., with traffic on both sides backed up nearly seven miles, state highway officials said. A detour along Route 331 through Preston that started about 11:30 a.m. reduced the backup by about a mile. A small oil spill from the truck on the bridge and in the river was to be cleaned up later Wednesday, authorities said. Dorchester editor Gail Dean contributed to this article.
Crane damages equipment, causes small chlorine leak; no one injured By staff reports, October 11, 2002 INGLESIDE - The Occidental Chemical plant reported a minor chlorine release on Thursday morning. The release was contained to the facility, and no one was injured, Plant Manager Tom Feeney said. A crane damaged a piece of equipment in the plant's chlorine unit, causing a pinhole leak. Plant operators shut down the unit to fix the leak and then brought the unit back up, causing an overflow from a chlorine condensate tank, which holds a mixture of chlorine and water. Texas Commission on Environmental Quality spokeswoman Jean Pieper Voshell said that what was initially thought to be a 20-pound release of the chemical irritant turned out to be a low-level release of about 3 pounds. Leaks of 100 pounds or more must be reported to the regulatory agency, Voshell said. Chlorine, in high doses, is an inhalation hazard and can cause breathing problems. "With the concentration and doses this morning there are no real issues of that," Feeney said. Voshell said the overflow was contained to the concrete area surrounding the tank, and no soil or water was contaminated in the incident.
DAD'S SKULL SMASHED IN NE HORROR ACCIDENT 16:00 - 09 October 2002 Lorry trailer roof falls on man's head A NORTH-east dad narrowly avoided being crushed to death after more than a tonne of metal fell on him. Electrician Stuart Milne, 37, suffered a smashed skull in the horrific industrial accident. A falling lorry trailer roof hit the father-of-three so hard, an imprint of his head was left in the metal. He was only saved by a nearby workbench which absorbed some of the impact, his partner Carol Cordiner said today. And Carol - who only nine weeks ago gave birth to the couple's daughter Katie - believes the weightlifter's strength had helped saved his life. The accident happened at Gray and Adams lorry building plant in Fraserburgh on Monday morning. Stuart had been working underneath a crane which was lifting a 30-by-eight-foot lorry trailer roof. Carol claimed she was told the crane wires had snapped. Stuart was rushed by ambulance to hospital in Aberdeen where he was found to have suffered two skull fractures, a broken collar bone, a broken vertebra, four broken ribs, a broken nose and a broken ankle. She was told of the devastating news by Stuart's brother-in-law Graeme Findlay - who works in a different part of the plant. "He told me Stuart had got a little bump to his head - but I knew it was more serious," the Strichen resident said. "The journey to Aberdeen was terrible, not knowing whether he would still be alive when I got there." The mum added: "Stuart was in a terrible mess when I was saw him." "He was breathing but his eye was so badly swollen it looked like it was about to burst." He recovered consciousness about half-an-hour after the accident and was later able to ask for Carol. "The first thing he said to me was 'I had a bad Monday morning'". "I just told him he wouldn't have to worry about work for a while." She added: "Stuart is keen weightlifter. I am convinced his strength and build saved his life." Stuart remains in a high-dependency unit at ARI - but hopes are high he will make a full recovery. And there is one very special person who wants him home as soon as possible. "Our daughter Katie is just nine-weeks-old," said Carol. She is Stuart's pride and joy and he just dotes on her." He has two other daughters, Leanne, 12, and Laura, 8, from a previous relationship. An ARI spokeswoman described Mr Milne's condition as "stable". No one at Gray and Adams was available for comment.
UPDATE, OSHA investigating accident that killed two at local plant By ROGER ADKINS The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is continuing an investigation into an industrial accident that killed two Vienna men last week in Pleasants County. Fred Burkle, 55, and Joe Spiker, 26, died when a manlift they were operating toppled Friday, causing them to fall 45 feet to the ground at the Allegheny Energy Supply Pleasants Power Station. Stanley Elliott, area director of OSHA in Charleston, said Monday officials are attempting to determine why the lift fell. "There's only so many reasons a piece of equipment tips over," Elliott said. "It was either overloaded, there was a strong wind or they were on an improper incline." State police officials said the lift tipped over because it was on an embankment. Elliott said no one witnessed the accident and it will be difficult to determine exactly what happened. The two men were pronounced dead at the scene by Harvey Hatfield, Pleasants County medical examiner, said Janice Lantz, manager of communications at AEP's administrative offices in Monroeville, Pa. The accident occurred about noon as the men were in the bucket of a Genie Manlift and were painting near a line transfer station at the plant along West Virginia 2 at Willow Island, Lantz said. Trooper T.D. Nichols of the state police said the two men had just finished painting and were moving to another location. They were moving the machinery with the boom extended 45 feet in the air, he said. They approached an embankment, but the machine was unable to handle the grade, Nichols said. It became top-heavy and toppled to the ground with both men inside the bucket. Elliott said there were no witnesses to confirm the machinery was moving when it tipped. The machine is operated by controls in the bucket, Lantz said. It is mobile even when the boom is extended. The machine was fairly new, she said. Nichols said the accident did not appear to have been caused by an equipment flaw. The two men worked for Universal Painters Inc. of New Martinsville and had been subcontracted by Almega Co. of Pittsburgh for work at the plant, Nichols said. Lantz said AEP contracted Almega Co. for painting and general maintenance. The company had been doing work at the plant for a couple of months. The accident is under investigation by officials from the WVSP, OSHA and AEP. Trooper M.H. Bauso is investigating the incident.
Crane crash on Hancock Kate Sage, October 8, 2002 A crane crushed this Toyota on Hancock Street while construction workers were replacing a tree last Thursday. A crane planting a tree tipped over and crushed a car parked on Hancock Street Thursday morning, witnesses say. The crane was replacing a birch tree when it lost balance and fell onto a gray Toyota parked on the street, said Anthony Viveros, a Metropolitan District Commissioner Park Ranger who was at the site. No one was in the car, and the driver of the crane did not suffer any injuries. Alan Hassell of River Street is the owner of the car, reported Captain Bernard O’Rourke, of Area A-1 police. Edgar Driscoll of Hancock Street heard the crash from inside his home and came down to make sure that it was not his car. “There has been a birch tree in this spot for 30 years,” he said, “It was knocked over on the Fourth of July weekend and we have been waiting for a replacement ever since.” Walter McDonough, vice president of Suffolk-NER Construction, the company responsible for replacing the tree, said that workers had placed signs and cones on the street warning people to move their cars a few hours before the mishap. They also had a car towed that was in the way. “It is standard practice for anyone doing long-term work to come to city hall and obtain a permit,” said Tracy Ganiatsos from the Department of Transportation. “Signs should be up at least 48 hours in advance.” It is unclear how the original tree was knocked over but State House contractors claim a refuse truck displaced it. Nevertheless they did agree to replace the tree, said Kevin Flanigan of the Division of Capital Asset Management.
Two die at power plant By Tom Hrach, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. BELMONT, W.Va. - Two workers from Vienna, W.Va., were killed at the Pleasants Power Station at Willow Island, W.Va., Friday after a boom device they were riding in toppled. The pair fell 40 feet to 45 feet to the ground. The victims were identified as Fred Burkle, 56, and Joe Spiker, 26, both of Vienna. They worked for a painting company, Universal Inc. of New Martinsville, W.Va. The deaths happened at just about noon as the two workers were painting a conveyor at the power plant. "We don't know what caused it. But there will be a full investigation by our company, and OSHA will be investigating, too," said Guy Fletcher, spokesman for Allegheny Energy Supply, which owns the plant. "All we know right now is that the bucket truck tipped over." OSHA is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which investigates work-related accidents and injuries. They were painting a conveyor at the plant when the accident happened. "They were in what's called a Genie Boom, a little four-wheel boom used in construction, and they had it extended about 45 feet," Sgt. T.D. Nichols, West Virginia State Police, Parkersburg, said. "They were moving the boom as they needed and it encountered an embankment to the left, causing the boom to tilt to the left." Fletcher said the plant's emergency squad responded to the accident along with the Pleasants County Emergency Squad and rescue workers from St. Joseph's Hospital in Parkersburg. Burkle and Spiker were dead at the scene from multiple injuries, Nichols said. Fletcher said Universal Inc. was a subcontractor for the Almega Company of Pittsburgh, which has been contracted to do maintenance work at the plant. There was no response to phone calls at the company's New Martinsville office Friday. The Pleasants Power Station is the newer and larger of the two power plants located at Willow Island and owned by Allegheny Energy Supply. The Pleasants Power Station was built in the late 1970s, while the Willow Island Station was built in the 1940s. Both burn coal to produce electricity. Nichols said this is the most serious accident at the facility in recent history. In 1978, 58 workers died when scaffolding on a cooling tower under construction at the Pleasants Power Station collapsed. Connie Cartmell contributed to this report.
UPDATE, State transportation officials investigation Summerville crane death (Summerville-AP) Oct. 5, 2002 - State transportation officials have not determined what caused a crane boom collapse that killed a construction worker. John Russell Odom, 43, of Summerville, died Friday when a cable broke and dropped a load of concrete and debris onto a tractor cab. More than ten tons of concrete and debris fell on Odom. Harrell says the string of accidents occurring at state construction sites within the past two months will lead to the tougher safety practice for contractors. Odom was working with Cape Romain Contractors at a construction site on Interstate 26 near Summerville. State labor safety officials said the investigation could take several weeks.
UPDATE, Man crushed under 2-ton bag returns home By Brandon Keat, TRIBUNE-REVIEW An Aliquippa man who was crushed under a more-than-2-ton bag of brick-making material 10 days ago returned home Friday — battered and bruised, but feeling lucky to be alive. Ernie Cipolla, 31, is suffering from short-term memory loss and extensive rehabilitation lies ahead, but "they (doctors) think I'll make a recovery eventually," he said. "They're kind of surprised at how far I've come so far," Cipolla said. "They're saying it's kind of like a miracle, for that much weight to be dropped on me." Cipolla, a single parent with a 4-year-old son, was working Sept. 25 atop a steel hopper at Neville Pulverized Lime Co., along Avenue B in the Buncher Industrial Park in Leetsdale, when the accident happened. He was using a remote control to operate a hoist holding the bag of calcium alumina — a sand-like substance used to make fireproof brick — over the hopper and was supposed to cut a hole in the bag so it could drain into the hopper. Somehow, the bag came down on top of Cipolla and pinned him to the hopper. He remained there for as long as 10 minutes before a co-worker discovered him. When police and emergency crews arrived, he was breathing but unconscious. Cipolla said those events are a blank to him. "I really can't remember anything about that day at all. I remember going to work, and I remember waking up a few days later in the hospital," he said. "I'm just glad to be alive." Cipolla's brother, Vince, said the scars from the accident — the bag covered Ernie Cipolla's chest and head — are extensive. He said his brother has trouble holding things in his memory, but "the scariest part are his eyes." "They're just red — fire red," Vince Cipolla said. He credits his brother's excellent physical condition before the accident with allowing him to survive — without even a broken bone. "If he didn't (work out so much), I don't know how he would have lived through this. He's definitely strong. I would have never lived through that." Vince Cipolla said that when doctors removed Ernie's respirator three days after the accident and his brother started talking within an hour and a half, "the doctor had tears in his eyes. I think he was overwhelmed." Ernie Cipolla, who has worked at Neville Pulverized Lime Co. for five years, said the job of emptying the calcium alumina into the hopper is one he has done numerous times over the last year and a half. He said he thinks the hoist used to lift the bag is rated to hold 4,000 pounds, and Leetsdale police said the bag he was working with weighed 4,242 pounds. Ernie Cipolla said it is too soon to think about whether he will return to work at the same place. "I'm just hoping to get myself back to normal before I think about anything," he said. "Right now, I'm just lucky to be here, and I'm just counting my blessings."
Construction crane hits Ford Center By Bryan Dean, The Oklahoman The Ford Center took another hit Thursday night, but this time it wasn't guests complaining about the seats or acoustics. A large crane struck the east side of the building Thursday night during an NHL exhibition game attended by about 6,300 people. Flint Construction workers were using the crane to build a Courtyard Suites by Marriot east of the Ford Center. Gary Desjardins, Ford Center general manager, said the accident could have been worse. "The cables broke on the crane, and it swung around and hit the building," Desjardins said. "It doesn't appear that there is any damage, but we don't want to move it until everyone is out of the building." Desjardins said no one was injured when the crane hit the Ford Center's brick exterior. "We were fortunate it wasn't more serious," he said. Officials said they did not know what caused the malfunction. The $25 million hotel will have 225 rooms and a 600-space parking garage. Site work on the project started last month.
Smokestack pins crane operator By Karen Snelling / Post-Tribune staff writer HOBART — A crane operator was taken to St. Mary Medical Center Thursday after he was pinned by a huge smokestack. The accident occurred shortly after 11 a.m. behind the former SaveMore Plaza at the intersection of Indiana 51 and U.S. 6. The construction worker, whose name was not released, was moving the 5-foot wide, 40-feet tall incinerator and chimney when it slipped and broke apart, officials from the Hobart Fire Department said. The smokestack crashed through the windows of the crane’s cab, trapping the operator. Hobart firefighters used airbags to lift the weight of the smokestack off the stunned worker. Once the airbags were in place and inflated, a tow truck from Waffco Towing in Lake Station assisted in the rescue by lifting the smokestack from the crane. The rescue operation took 15 minutes to complete, a fire department official said. A waiting ambulance took the bleeding crane operator to the hospital. His condition is unknown. Local developer Charles Greiner is investing nearly $5 million to renovate the retail center. Plans submitted to the city show that the space will be remodeled into a warehouse and banquet facility.
Firm seeks reason crane fell into river By JAMES EVANS, The Ashland City Times ASHLAND CITY — Officials with Trinity Marine Products say they have opened an investigation to determine what made a crane topple into the Cumberland River on Wednesday afternoon. The crane operator, whom company officials would not identify, got trapped in the wreckage. The man was in stable condition yesterday in Vanderbilt University Medical Center and was scheduled for release. ''We're just very pleased no one was seriously hurt,'' company spokeswoman Nancy Farrar said yesterday. The operator was pinned in the cab of the crane by two different pieces of metal. Hydraulic jacks and saws were used to cut the worker free. ''It's (a) true miracle'' he wasn't seriously hurt, Ashland City Fire Chief Chuck Walker said. An official with the Nashville office of the U.S. Department of Labor's Operational Safety and Health Administration said an investigation into the incident had not been announced as of yesterday.
Investigation Looks Into Electrocution Of Workers; Police Find Men Dead In Lift Bucket MERIDEN, Conn. -- Federal investigators are trying to determine how two men were electrocuted while working on a utility vehicle at a city building. Meriden police said the two men were power-washing bricks on the Stoddard Municipal Building on Miller Street Wednesday. They were in a bucket that rises from the truck. "They were power washing with water, and we're not sure if the bucket hit the line or water arched and hit the line," said Sgt. Leonard Caponigro. The bucket was not touching any wires when rescuers arrived, fire officials said. Police identified the workers as Eugeno Torres, 47, and Hector Leon, 50, both of New Haven, who were pronounced dead at the scene. The men worked for Milestone Restoration Inc., of New Haven. The contractor had been working for about two months repairing brickwork at the city building. Officials with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were investigating. Firefighters responded at about 4:30 p.m. to a call saying that two workers needed help, Caponigro said. The two men were the only members of the power washing crew. Rescuers could not resuscitate the workers, Caponigro said. "When we got there, the construction basket was up, the pressure washer hose was dangling, the men were down inside the basket and primary wires were probably a foot overhead," fire Capt. Mark Graber said. An hour before the call, a passer-by saw the two men in the raised bucket and thought they were sleeping. Cathy Antonetty said one worker had his face in his hands and the other was slumped over. She said she yelled up to the bucket in Spanish to ask Torres and Leon if they were sleeping. Neither responded. "It didn't look right, but I thought they were taking a nap," Antonetty said. Beth Vumbaco, director of the city's Health and Human Services Department, located in the Stoddard building, described Torres and Leon as nice men who were hard workers. Rich Hansen, manager of customer operations for Connecticut Light & Power Inc., said the lines that run through the alley produce up to 4,800 volts. The average plug in a house puts out 120 volts.
UPDATE, Contractor pays fine for Brentwood accident By Jan Ackerman, Post-Gazette Staff Writer A Castle Shannon masonry company paid a $2,800 fine to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration for a citation issued after a crane operator was critically injured at a job site at a Brentwood shopping center project this summer. Marsa Inc. paid the fine last month to settle a citation filed by OSHA after Dale Haslett, 29, of South Park, was critically burned and two other construction workers were slightly injured after a scaffold being moved by a crane on June 25 came in contact with a high voltage power line. OSHA assistant area director Edward Selker said the federal agency imposed a $4,000 fine, but reduced it to $2,800 after an informal settlement conference last month. The company was fined for moving a scaffold closer than 10 feet to an energized power line. At about 10:42 a.m. on June 25, workers from Marsa were moving a tower scaffold when it came close enough to a 138,000-volt power line that the line arced and sent large bolts of electricity to the ground. Haslett, who suffered second- and third-degree burns over 60 percent of his body, remained at Mercy Hospital until Aug. 3. Two other workers, Joseph Scott Taylor, 35, of Charleroi, and Christopher Guty, 22, of Uniontown, were treated and released on June 26, Mercy Hospital spokeswoman Linda Ross said.
Man in hospital after crane falls, traps him ASHLAND CITY — A man operating a crane was flown to a Nashville hospital last night after the crane fell, trapping him in the wreckage for more than two hours. Emergency crews responded to Trinity Marine Products off Highway 12 about 5:30 p.m. The man's name and condition were not available, and company officials had not issued a statement at press time. Information about the crane's activity was not available. Responding were the city's fire and police departments and Cheatham's Emergency Management Agency and Sheriff's Department. Staff Reports
Crane tips over at hospital, operator's injuries minor SALISBURY TWP. -- A construction crane tipped over about noon Tuesday at the Lehigh Valley Hospital at Cedar Crest Boulevard and Interstate 78 in the township. The incident left the crane's operator with minor injuries, but no one else was hurt. Hospital officials are still investigating what caused the crane to topple, said hospital spokesman Brian Downs. "The crane tipped. We don't know why. The operator was pinned inside against a retaining wall," he said. The operator suffered only minor cuts and injuries. Downs said he did not know the victim's name, age or address. Western Salisbury Fire Chief Steve Schneider could not be reached for comment late Tuesday. Workers were using the crane to lower construction materials to the underground site where technicians would use a linear accelerator, which uses radiation to treat cancer. The hospital contracted Atomic International of Douglasville, Pa., to install protective material, such as cement block, to insulate the radiation equipment. By 1:30 p.m., yellow tape surrounded the area where the crane tipped. Hospital security personnel guarding the area referred all questions to Downs.
Crane Accident One person is injured after a crane collapses at a construction site in Baltimore City. The accident happened in the 200 block of St. Paul Street. Roads were closed in the area as crews worked at the scene. The injured construction workers was taken to Shock Trauma. Another person was treated but didn't go the hospital.
Country Energy worker struck by lightning THE Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service yesterday transported an 18-year-old Gilgandra man to Tamworth Base Hospital after he was struck by lightning. The man and a colleague were in a cherry picker installing insulation to electrical wires for Country Energy about 30km east of Coonabarabran when lightning struck the wires at about 10am. Although the wires were not connected, a single wire was resting on the cherry picker bucket while they attached the insulation and it conducted electricity from a strike nearby. The man was not hit directly by the strike, however ambulance officers were concerned about possible internal injuries indicated by external bruising on his thighs. A Westpac Rescue Helicopter spokesperson said while it was not immediately obvious, lightning strikes had the potential to damage internal organs and result in their failure. The patient arrived in Tamworth about 12.30pm in a stable condition.
Deadly Crane Accident The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating a deadly accident at Portland's Providence hospital. A crane collapsed on a construction worker this morning as it was being erected. The victim died later in the morning. The crane operator was unhurt. investigators say the two-person crew was setting up the crane to work on an elevator on the back side of the main hospital.
State inspects site of crane accident By CHERIS HODGES, Staff Writer News & Record HIGH POINT -- The investigation into Monday's deadly construction accident continued Tuesday as investigators from the state department of labor inspected the Pegg Road site. Juan Santos, a spokesman for the North Carolina Department of Labor, said it could take up to six weeks for the investigation to be completed. "We sent inspectors to the site to look at what was being used and talk to workers who were there," Santos said. Juan Jose Mayo Uyoa, 30, of Randleman was unloading steel roofing rafters from a crane Monday afternoon at a building under construction. The crane buckled and dropped between 8,000 and 10,000 pounds of steel roofing rafters on Uyoa, an employee of Contract Erectors. The company was one of the subcontractors working on the project. Mark Stinson, operations manager for Contract Erectors, said this is the first fatal accident the company has had in its 15-year history. But in 1997, Contract Erectors was cited and fined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for having improper fall protection, according to that agency's Web site. The company was fined $2,000 because three workers didn't have on safety harnesses as they worked on the roof of a building. In 1994, the company was cited for hand tool usage and medical and first aid equipment violations. Fines were not imposed. On Tuesday, Stinson said his company believes a mechanical malfunction in the 29-year-old crane caused Monday's accident. He said despite the age of the crane, it had been inspected since the last time it had been used. He said in the inspection, workers check and change the oil and look for any damage to the crane. "The cranes are thoroughly inspected because of the cost to purchase them," he said. Stinson said the company had been using the crane involved in Monday's accident for about eight years. He also said Uyoa had been trained to do his job in accordance with new OSHA rules. Uyoa was an iron worker, Stinson said. His job included welding, putting together brackets and other aspects of steel erection, said Stinson. "This man was doing what he was supposed to do. He wasn't standing under a suspended load; he was where he was supposed to be," Stinson said. As a precautionary measure, Stinson said he was stressing to site foreman that no one should stand underneath a suspended load. "What we're doing is reiterating job site safety," he said. The accident occurred at a building being constructed by Samet Corp. for Deep River West Co., according to police. Contract Erectors is a subcontractor for Samet Corp. Uyoa's body was recovered from under the crane about 7:15 p.m. Monday. Officials said Uyoa's family was in Mexico, but there was an unnamed cousin who lived in the area.
Worker Crushed, Killed At Plant A worker at a Greenville County plant was killed Wednesday morning when he was crushed by a piece of equipment he was attempting to move. The accident happened at Magna Drive Automotive, located just south of the Southern Connector in the Moonville area. Greenville County deputy coroner Mike Ellis told News 4 that the man was using an overhead crane to move a 75,000-pound piece of machinery that had multiple parts. While it was being lifted by the crane about 7 a.m., one of the pieces shifted, trapping the man between two parts of the machine, Ellis told News 4. The man, whose name has not been released, was taken to Greenville Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead just before 8 a.m.
Steel beams crush man By Kelly Kramp, STAFF WRITER Investigators are trying to determine the cause of a crane accident in north High Point that killed one man Monday. High Point police said Juan Jose Mayo Uyoa, 30, of Randleman, was killed when a crane carrying 8,000 to 10,000 pounds (4 to 5 tons) of steel roofing rafters collapsed. Police said Uyoa was working for Contractor Erectors of Randleman at a building that's under construction on Pegg Road, off Gallimore Dairy Road. The 600 block of Pegg Road was closed most of the day. The building is being constructed by Samet Construction Co. for Deep River West Co. and is intended for warehouse/office space, police said. Representatives from Samet could not be reached Monday. Crews were using a mobile crane that can lift up to 90 tons to move the rafters inside the building shell about 1 p.m. The roofing rafters were to be installed later this week, police said. High Point police Lt. Jim Tate said the boom on the crane snapped and the boom and rafters fell inside the building, where Uyoa was unloading materials. "We don't know at this point if this was mechanical failure or weight. What caused it to do that, I'm not sure," said Denita Davis, spokeswoman for the High Point Fire Department. When the boom snapped, an unsecured section of wall was knocked loose and was held up only by the portion of the crane that remained standing outside the building. Additional cranes, Tate said, were brought in late Monday afternoon to secure the walls and allow rescue workers to remove debris. Davis said as many as 30 High Point firefighters with the department's Technical Response Team and the Deep River Fire Department and Guilford County EMS assisted in the recovery efforts. After the building was stabilized, crews had to cut the steel beams inside the building. The body was recovered about 7:15 p.m., six hours after the accident, and sent to the N.C. Medical Examiners office. "They've got to be so precise on the stabilization. We've got to make sure anybody that goes in there would be secure," Davis said. Uyoa is from Mexico, where most of his family still lives. Davis said officials contacted a cousin, who lives here, who was able to contact the victim's mother and wife in Mexico. High Point police and the North Carolina Department of Labor will continue the investigation into the incident today.
UPDATE, Blame set in bridge accident By TRACY ROBINSON, COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU Human error is being blamed for the July 29 accident in which a 116-ton concrete beam broke, crashed into the existing bridge, then fell into the Shark River along with part of a crane during construction of the new Route 35 bridge. A construction foreman told a crane operator to release the beam before it had been secured in place, Thomas Dowd, regional construction engineer for the State Department of Transportation, said yesterday. Officials have said the method employed to install beams involves temporarily securing them before the crane lifting them lets go. A project manager for Amec Civil, the contractor hired by the state to build the new fixed- span bridge, explained how the accident happened in simpler terms. "They just screwed up, that's all there is to it," Jim Bowers said. Dowd said the foreman is still employed by Amec Civil and working on the bridge project but will not take part in the beam installation process. DOT officials said they did not know if he had been reprimanded by his employer. "He's probably as upset as anybody else that it happened," Dowd said. Any penalty to be levied against Amec Civil will not be decided until the bridge is completed, said DOT spokesman Micah Rasmussen. Begun in March 2000, the $46.3 million project is already $3 million over budget and more than a year behind schedule. The initial completion date was the end of 2002; authorities haven't announced a new target date for completion. Officials spoke about the construction accident during a morning meeting yesterday at the Coast Guard station in Point Pleasant, at which a revised plan on how the beams will be installed was given a public hearing. When the project resumes, the officials said, the navigational channel beneath the bridge will be closed from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. for 21 work days, Mondays through Thursdays, as was the plan in July. In addition, the existing Route 35 bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic during those times. A detour will route Route 35 traffic over the Main Street (Route 71) bridge between Belmar and the Avon-Neptune shore to the north. The beam installation was supposed to resume next Tuesday, DOT officials said, but late yesterday Dowd said the crane to replace the one that broke in the accident was "stuck in Customs" in Port Newark. This means that the installation will not begin until Wednesday at the earliest, depending on when the crane arrives, he said. Rasmussen said the DOT can't get the crane out of Customs "due to code orange," the high- risk-of-terrorist-attack alert issued by the government just before Sept. 11. The new safety and beam erection plan calls for two significant changes: radio communication between construction workers and additional layers of approval before a beam is released by the crane operator, DOT officials said. Crews will start by putting beams into place in the center of the span instead of at the sides, officials said. This method will allow the beams to be secured on both sides. Other measures are intended to ensure safety. "It's fortunate no one was killed," Bowers said at one point yesterday. DOT employees will be on site, as they were when the accident occurred, officials said. Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration representatives will also be there this time, Dowd said. In the wake of the accident, some members of the local boating community affected by the channel closings spoke out at yesterday's sparsely attended meeting. Mary Ann Leyrer -- who along with her husband, Ralph, owns two Belmar-based charter fishing boats, the Last Lady I and II -- said many did not attend yesterday's meeting because they were not aware it was scheduled until Thursday. "It's typical of this whole project that everything is last-minute," said Leyrer. OSHA is reviewing engineering specifications for the revised installation process and should have a response by Monday, said OSHA spokesman Gary Roskoski. The accident is still under investigation, Roskoski said, noting they have six months to complete a report and issue any penalties if applicable. Some are eager to see the beam work begin again, including Robbin Kirk, Belmar's chief financial officer, who represented the borough at the meeting. "We want to see the bridge get done," Kirk said. Local businessman Seth Frankel, the owner of the Shark River Yacht Club, agreed. "Just do it," Frankel said. "I think they had everything under control last time," he said, calling the accident a "fluke."
Crane topples at Stono bridge site, injuring 1; 2nd time in month heavy equipment failed on job BY TONY BARTELME AND RON MENCHACA, Of The Post and Courier Staff A large barge-mounted crane working on the new Stono River Bridge toppled onto another barge Thursday, injuring a worker, narrowly missing boats at a nearby marina and causing more than 65 gallons of diesel fuel and lubricant to spill into the river. It was the second time in a month that a crane has fallen at the construction site. Last month, a crane hit the existing drawbridge, forcing officials to close one of the main links to Johns Island for three days. This time, the crane fell away from the bridge and roadway. Police stopped traffic for about an hour as Coast Guard and other emergency crews converged on the scene. The crane was lifting a 100,000-pound steel rebar cage when it tipped over. Mark Hunter, who owns a landscaping and irrigation company, was driving to James Island when the crane went down. "They had stopped traffic while they were lifting it, which was a good precaution," he said. "But the thing they were lifting was really huge, and I said to myself, 'This_isn't going to work.'" He pulled out a disposable camera and snapped a few shots as the crane began to tip. "As he started to lift it, the cage buckled. It was all in the water within a minute." The incident could have been much worse, Howard said. "If it had fallen a few degrees in a different direction, it could have hit some boats in the marina." Ernie Dozzi, DOT maintenance engineer, said the accident "was pretty much the same thing that happened last time." On Aug. 16, a crane operator was lifting another cylinder steel cage when the crane's 170-foot-long boom buckled and landed across the bridge. This incident came three weeks after a barge hit the old bridge, causing $60,000 in damages. "Three accidents in about 30 days obviously means we have something to investigate," said Bob Harrell, a state transportation commissioner. He said high-level Federal Highway Administration and state inspectors were dispatched to the construction site. Construction on the bridge has stopped and won't begin again until their investigations are done. Wor also stopped for more than a week after the Aug. 16 incident. "This bridge will be built," Harrell said, but added that replacing the contractor is one possible scenario. Republic Contracting of Columbia won the $46.9 million contract to build the four-lane bridge in January 2001. An employee in Republic's on-site office said the company had no comment and referred questions to a subcontractor, Case Atlantic. Representatives from Case's office in Florida declined to comment.In Thursday's incident, the crane operator was taken to Roper Hospital with cuts and other minor injuries, said Lt. jg Chester Warren of the Coast Guard's Marine Safety Office. Warren said the man's identity was not available. Warren estimated that 50 gallons of diesel fuel and 15 gallons of industrial lubricant spilled into the river. The Coast Guard deployed absorbent booms around the spill. He said investigators also were trying to determine whether the 100-foot-long barge was large enough to hold the weight of the crane and its load. Inspectors with the Occupational Health and Safety Administration also were on the scene. "We're still gathering information from the last one," Jim Drape, acting area director of the federal OSHA office in South Carolina, said of the Aug. 16 incident. Records show that OSHA cited Republic Contracting with 55 health and safety violations during the past 10 years and has fined the company $21,615. Case Atlantic had no recent labor or safety violations in South Carolina. Harrell said the crane operator reportedly had 34 years of experience. "I'm told that he was using a larger crane than we started out with and a larger barge, which was supposed to add stability. What they're saying is that when he lifted the cage, a gust of wind caught it, moved the cage and caused the crane to pull to one side. Then everything tumbled to the side. My problem with this explanation is that high currents and winds come with the territory." After police reopened the bridge to traffic Thursday afternoon, motorists had a dramatic view of the wreckage. Looking like a giant overturned tank, the crane's massive tracks were still on the barge. The crane's boom reached over a second barge before dipping into the river, its tip nearly hitting several boats. Tish Anderson who runs the ship store at Buzzards Roost Marina, heard the crane fall. "I heard it snap. It sounded like thunder. One of my customers looked out the window and said the crane fell. I said, 'Oh come on, you are kidding me." Anderson called the Coast Guard after she saw diesel fuel on the water. "You could see the sheen. The smell was so bad you could barely breathe." Bob and Beth Kelley of Headquarters Island also saw the crane fall. They joked that they might start a river taxi service after they ferried a friend across the river who was stuck in traffic waiting for the bridge to reopen. "We were surprised to see another accident this soon," Bob Kelley said.
Dock tragedy as son sees father crushed By Mark Hookham, Daily Post A SON saw his father killed in the hold of a ship as he helped unload cargo at a Merseyside dock. Foreman Jeffrey Swan, 53, from Ellesmere Port was crushed between a crane and the hold of a cargo ship at Seaforth Docks. His son, who also works at the dock, was working on the quayside next to the ship when the accident happened shortly before 6.30pm on Saturday evening. Jeffrey Swan was working 200 feet inside the hold of Jega, a Canadian registered cargo ship which regularly visits the Port of Liverpool. It is believed he was directing a crane that was unloading forestry material through the ship's hatch. Mr Swan, who was one of the most experienced stevedores on the dock, was an agency worker for docking company Stanton Grove. A spokesman for the Port Police said: "The police can confirm that a dock worker met his death whilst in the process of unloading a vessel. The police are conducting an investigation on behalf of the coroner." Two ambulances had attended the scene after a call at 6.21pm but they did not attempt to move Mr Swan. Stanton Grove managing director Alan Taylor said: "We fully believe that we had no part to play in this accident. "I am not yet in a position to fully comment as we have not yet conducted all the witness interviews." A spokesman from Merseyside Docks and Harbour Board safety department said: "An officer from our department attended the scene on Saturday night. " It was a very unfortunate accident. A full investigation is being held between the private company and the Health and Safety Executive." Colin Carr, industrial organizer for the Transport and General Workers union, said: "This is only the second death at Liverpool in five years and that does not mirror the national picture, where there are larger numbers of fatal accidents. "We are, however, concerned that this happened inside the hold of the ship because traditionally this is the most dangerous area of the ship. "Forestry products often have to be maneuvered from smaller areas of the hold to under the ship's oblong hatch so the cranes can reach them. "As a foreman I imagine he would have entered the hold to sort out a problem or answer a query." Last year a truck driver was killed in a warehouse shed near Langton Dock in the Bootle dock complex.
Crane collapses in Jerusalem, wounds at least seven people JERUSALEM - A crane collapsed at a construction site in an industrial area of Jerusalem on Wednesday, injuring at least seven people, rescue workers said. Paramedics said two people were in serious condition, while the others were moderately or lightly injured. The crane collapsed in the Talpiot neighborhood in southern Jerusalem. In May 2001, the floor of a banquet hall collapsed in Talpiot during a wedding, killing 24 people and wounding about 300.
Crane hits wires, knocks out power By Journal Times staff, Aug. 31, 2002 RACINE -- About 205 We Energies customers lost power Friday when a crane on a barge came into contact with power lines hanging over the Root River. The barge was near the State Street bridge when the top of the on-board crane touched the power lines. The crane stopped as police and emergency personnel arrived. Soon after, the crane operator simply moved his craft forward to escape the power lines. The power outage affected customers inside an area bounded by Five Mile Road, Highway 20, Douglas Avenue and Lake Michigan. The outage occurred because when something which is grounded comes into contact with power lines it redirects flow, said Megan McCarthy, spokeswoman for We Energies. The crane hit the wires at about 2:23 p.m. and We Energies crews had repaired related problems by 3:20 p.m., she said. Power was fully restored, McCarthy said.
Powerful wind pushes port crane off its rails MOREHEAD CITY - Port officials this week used powerful hydraulic jacks to get the facility's 900-ton container crane back on track after the mammoth machine was pushed off its rails by high winds early Monday. "The wind got it and shoved it down the track," said Doug Campen, director of safety and security for the N.C. State Ports. "It ran through the stops and off the end." The crane dug into the asphalt before coming to a stop. While the crane is back on track, it will need some minor repairs and an inspection before it can go back in service, Mr. Campen said. "If you looked at if from the street, you wouldn't know anything was wrong with it," Mr. Campen said. The crane has a 32-foot span between opposite legs, which makes it small for a modern container crane, many of which have a span of 50 feet. It has two special attachments, capable of lifting 17 and 21 tons, respectively. An eye-catching feature at the port, the crane was moved from the Morehead City facility to Wilmington port in 1979, creating a storm of controversy. Residents and business interests became so incensed at the loss that they founded the Morehead City Ports Committee in an effort to get the crane back. Originally, two container cranes had been purchased and one given to each port. Morehead City's loss of the 40-ton capacity crane was seen as a blow to the development of business at the port, in part because at the time 70 percent of all international trade was containerized. The port in Morehead City was outfitted with this crane in January 2001. Before leaving Wilmington for its 90-mile journey to the port here, the crane was jacked up and loaded onto a 300- by 90-foot cargo barge. It was skidded off the barge and jacked down to the rails.
Worker hurt in Marysville By John DeWeese, Herald Writer MARYSVILLE -- A lift overturned Wednesday afternoon during restoration work on the Marysville water tower, seriously injuring one worker as the basket he was in plummeted 30 feet to the ground. The worker, a 47-year-old Oregon man, was listed in serious condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with head and other injuries, a nursing supervisor said. He was in intensive care Wednesday night. The tower, the tallest structure in downtown Marysville, is undergoing a $180,000 renovation. Witnesses said the lift was extended about 30 to 40 feet on the north side of the tower when it collapsed. The lift snapped two main power lines along Sixth Avenue and crashed down on a Ford Ranger truck. Power was cut to buildings in Comeford Park and nearby businesses and homes. The owner of the truck, Ernie Perrault of Marysville, said he was discussing a real estate deal at the John L. Scott Realty Building across the street when the accident occurred. He described hearing electric wires popping and a crunching of metal as the lift's basket smashed into his truck. "At first I didn't think anyone was in the basket," Perrault said. A work team from Snohomish County PUD took two hours to restore power. Marysville spokesman Doug Buell said the mayor decided to close the park overnight and post city employees to keep the site clear. Police also closed Sixth Street between State Avenue and Delta Avenue. Investigators are not sure what caused the collapse, but the lift's tire broke through a section of the sidewalk. Once the lift is removed, crews will assess if any water or sewer mains were damaged, Buell said. The lift operator worked for United Steel Erector, a Bellingham-based company subcontracting for Long Painting Co. City engineer Rob Nelson said the tower's restoration began three weeks ago and had been running smoothly. A state inspector made a preliminary investigation, Buell said, but it was too early to determine the cause of the accident. "It's hard to say at this point. There are a lot of parties involved," Buell said. Ron Larson, who works for Ready Trucking in Redmond, said he delivered the 125-foot Genie S-125 lift to the Marysville site. The lift has a computer system that controls the basket's movements and prevents operator error. In his opinion, it would be very unlikely that the lift could tip over unless it was placed on unstable ground. When the water tower was built in 1921, it was the primary source of water for the community. The tower has been unused for 26 years, but local historic societies donated most of the money to have it restored as a landmark, said Marysville chief administration officer Mary Swenson. Construction will continue as soon as a crane removes the fallen lift, Swenson added.
Overturned Crane Slows Traffic Traffic was diverted downtown for a while Tuesday after a crane tipped over. The accident happened on Central Parkway near Hopple Street. The worker in the crane was trapped for a short time but got out with only minor injuries. It's still undetermined what caused the accident.
Child killed by falling crane in St. Petersburg ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - A construction crane crashed to the ground in St. Petersburg on Monday, killing a 7-year-old child and injuring three other people, authorities said. The injured — two women and a 3-year-old child — were hospitalized, authorities said. Their conditions were not immediately available. The accident occurred in the Primorsky district far from the center of Russia's former Imperial capital, officials from the city Civil Defense and Emergency Situations department said. The cause was being investigated and prosecutors said they were trying to determine whether criminal charges for safety violations were warranted.
Electric Worker Killed in Accident, Four others in crew hurt when boom hits line. By RICK ROUSOS & JOHN CHAMBLISS, The Ledger LAKELAND -- A Lakeland Electric worker was electrocuted and four other linemen were injured Monday in an accident off Reynolds Road east of Lakeland. Marcus Moore, 31, of 5235 Paul Brown Road in Kathleen, was killed about 1:30 p.m. while working at Citrus Woods Mobile Home Park, 1610 Reynolds Road between lots 335 and 336. The four injured linemen were in good condition at Lakeland Regional Medical Center on Monday night, a nursing supervisor said. They were listed by co-workers as Chris Anderson, Mark Harrison, Mike Sims and Guy Schatzman. The accident occurred while the men were using a boom, which utility officials describe as similar to a crane, to drive a utility pole into the ground to repair damage done by an earlier storm. A metal piece of equipment at the end of the boom hit a primary electric line, officials said. The line carried between 7,200 and 13,000 volts, said Keith Hulbert, the general manager of Lakeland Electric. The electricity traveled through the boom into the ground and shocked the workers. It was unclear where Moore was standing when he was shocked or if he was touching the boom, but the wet ground made the situation worse because it acted as a conductor, said sheriff's spokeswoman Carrie Rodgers. The four Lakeland Electric employees who survived were standing on the ground near the pole when they were shocked, Rodgers said. Rodgers said a line never snapped or fell to the ground. About 50 workers and family members who crowded an LRMC waiting room Monday mourned Moore's death as they waited for word on the four injured workers. Co-workers said Moore had a wife and a couple of young children. He was described by his supervisor, Gerald Holbrook, as a man's man with a good heart. "He was a big, strong, powerful man, but he was real gentle," Holbrook said. "He had a great sense of humor" and loved to hunt. Gilbert McKee, 43, a lineman who was shocked and burned while placing an insulator on a power line in 2000, said he used to playfully wrestle with Moore. "We were both big guys," McKee said. "He was a big teddy bear." McKee, who learned of Moore's death through a co-worker, said Moore was about 6 feet tall and weighed about 270 pounds. McKee said he would miss his co-worker of at least 10 years. "We worked side by side," McKee said. "We all look out for each other here." Hulbert said the details of the accident are sketchy because the five-member crew was working alone. He said more should be known within the next few days. "Our hearts go out to the family members, friends and co-workers," Hulbert said. "We're going to do all we can to help them through this time of tragedy." The past two years, Lakeland Electric received a first-place award for compiling an outstanding safety record from the Florida Municipal Electric Association.
Fatal accident at Wilson Bridge construction site The Associated Press, WFLS News (Oxon Hill, Maryland-AP) -- A construction worker on the Wilson Bridge project is dead after a crane came into contact with live power lines. It happened around nine this morning on the Maryland side. Prince George's County Fire and EMS spokesman Chauncey Bowers says the boom of the crane came down, touching the wires on the way. A 44-year-old man was electrocuted. Efforts to revive the man were unsuccessful. A witness says the victim was running toward the crane, and tried to get on it just as the boom struck the power lines. He says the man was blown from the crane face down. The bridge crosses over the Potomac River, connecting Virginia and Maryland.
Bent crane won't slow UF stadium expansion By David Jones, FLORIDA TODAY GAINESVILLE -- North-South Drive in front of Florida Field was closed Monday night when part of a crane being used for the $50 million stadium expansion bent. Work continued Tuesday on other parts of the project on the south portion of the expansion, which will increase seating from 83,000 to 90,000-plus in 2003. The crane was actually in the process of being removed from the site when its lifting mechanism bent. "It's just one of those little bumps in the road," said Florida associate athletic director Greg McGarity, who is overseeing the project. "Nobody was injured." The timing, however, couldn't have been better for the expansion. McGarity said if the crews were still using the crane, used largely to lift heavy steel, "We'd have problems, put it that way." Overall, the expansion is on time and on budget. UF is currently preparing to get new lights correctly lined up before the Aug. 31 season opener against Alabama-Birmimgham, which isn't vital because a backup portable lighting plan in place. Most of the concrete and steel should be in place within the next month. McGarity said the area around the stadium will be much cleaner this year and fans planning to attend the opener shouldn't have any safety concerns. "We will have the same entry pathways that we had last year, as you enter the stadium from the west side," McGarity said. "We'll have the same lanes, it's just going to be a lot neater because there's a lot of concrete now in place whereas last year we had asphalt and had some dirt." Fans at games this season will already get a partial view of what the west side will eventually look like, with most of the skeleton of the expansion already taking form. "Your heavy part, your steel and concrete, we're really winding down," McGarity said. "And they are the two largest segments of the project." Electric work and plumbing and should continue through the current season. "The critical time is going to be the day after this (home) season is concluded, on Nov. 17," McGarity said. "That's when things really start to kick into gear." On Nov. 17, workers will begin renovating the top two floors of the west side press box area. The bottom five floors will be completely demolished and rebuilt. Florida coach Ron Zook said of Monday's crane incident, "I hope that's the biggest problem we have."
Worker is shocked by lightning; Hospitalized after crane is struck HOBOKEN - A construction worker was hospitalized after being shocked by a bolt of lightning which struck a crane near him during a brief thundershower yesterday afternoon, said Police Capt. James Tuminaro. Eric Bomberry, 24, of Ontario, Canada, received the electrical shock at 1:42 p.m., on a construction site on Second Street between Sinatra Drive and River Street, Tuminaro said. Bomberry was standing on a flatbed truck, which was delivering steel girders to the site, when the crane beside the vehicle was struck by lightning, he said. At the time, Bomberry was holding a cable tied to a load of girders being raised by the crane, according to reports. The charge from the lightning bolt traveled from the top of the crane, down the cable, to the load of girders and into Bomberry's hand, shocking him so violently he was knocked off the flatbed truck, Tuminaro said. Police and Emergency Medical Technicians arriving first at the scene said Bomberry was conscious and coherent when he was taken to the hospital. Jersey City Medical Center spokeswoman Sally Deering said Bomberry was admitted into the hospital for observations. The incident is under investigation by the Hoboken Detective Bureau, as are all industrial accidents, Tuminaro said. - Michaelangelo Conte
Freak accident fells construction laborer By Michaelangelo Conte, Journal staff writer HOBOKEN - A construction laborer working at the Shipyard Project is in critical condition after a freak accident yesterday, officials said. Calogero Messina, 57, of Bethlehem, Pa., an employee of MJP Construction in Leonardo, was injured at 10:10 a.m. while working on the fourth floor of 1200 Shipyard Lane, officials said. A witness said a crane had placed a load of a dozen steel scaffolding frames down on the building's fourth floor, and that when Messina pulled the strap to untie them, the load shifted and the stack began to move toward him. The witness, who would not give his name, said Messina quickly stepped back to avoid the stack of frames. But his foot got stuck in a beam and he fell backward, said the witness, who is also an employee of MJP. "He fell backward slamming to the ground with all his weight and his head hit the floor making his hard-hat bounce 10-feet into the air," said the worker, adding that Messina was conscious when EMTs took him away. Messina was rushed to the Jersey City Medical Center. Yesterday evening, Medical Center Spokeswoman Sally Deering said he was listed there in critical condition, and was later moved to University Hospital in Newark. University Hospital Spokesman Rogers Ramsee said Messina remained in critical condition last night.
Worker killed at Detroit Lions new stadium ALEXANDRA R. MOSES, Associated Press Writer A painter at the Detroit Lions' new stadium was killed Tuesday when a hydraulic lift he was on fell into the first tier of seats. Other details were not immediately released, but police Lt. Janice Butler confirmed the death of the worker at Ford Field. Brian Dye, another painter at the stadium, said the machinery tipped over and the basket the man was sitting in fell into the seats upside down. Construction was shut down for the day and was to resume Wednesday, said Tom Lewand, chief operating officer for the Lions. The 65,000-seat stadium is scheduled to open next month when the team plays host to the Pittsburgh Steelers in an exhibition game. The Lions are returning downtown -- from the Pontiac Silverdome -- for the first time since 1974 at the new $315 million venue. Ford Field includes a giant glass wall, revealing the Detroit skyline, and the old Hudson's warehouse, built in 1920. The Super Bowl is scheduled for the stadium in 2006. High winds caused a crane to collapse during construction of Miller Park, the home of the Milwaukee Brewers, in 1999, killing three ironworkers. A 450-ton piece of roof dropped in that accident and caused $100 million in damage to the stadium. As a result, the park's opening was delayed by a season.
Worker Topples Crane Near WTC Site NEW YORK (AP) - A 35-ton crane fell over near the World Trade Center site on Sunday while the operator was drunk, police said. Crane operator Noel Brolly suffered a minor hand injury. No one else was injured, officers said. Brolly was using the 100-foot crane to load debris onto a truck at the World Financial Center, which was damaged by the Sept. 11 collapse of the World Trade Center towers. The crane toppled onto the West Side Highway and blocked two of its four lanes, but "traffic is pretty light in that area on Sunday morning," said police Officer Jennara Everleth. Brolly, 38, was charged with reckless endangerment. In addition to being legally intoxicated, he didn't secure the crane to its platform, which was his responsibility, Everleth said. A woman who answered the telephone at the home address for Brolly provided by police said she was unaware of the crane collapse and declined comment. A telephone call to the company that owns the crane, Atlantic-Heydt National, was not immediately returned.
Ship crashes into Baltimore dock, crane falls; Officials work to control fuel spill By Associated Press BALTIMORE - A bulk cargo ship crashed into a dock in the Port of Baltimore, knocking over a 162-foot-high crane and forcing state officials to scramble to control a fuel spill, officials said Saturday. The Maryland Port Administration crane, which will cost between $6 and $8 million to replace, was left a heap of twisted metal, said Jack Cahalan, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation. It looks like a big dinosaur, resting on its side," Cahalan said. No injuries were reported. The accident happened Friday night after the 653-foot ship had a failure in its propulsion system, Cahalan said. "We were lucky in the fact that that berth was not active last night," Cahalan said. "Nor was there any cargo in the vicinity of the crane." The 750-ton crane held about 450 gallons of diesel fuel, Cahalan said. About 370 gallons were recovered by early Saturday morning, said Mike Sharon, chief of the emergency response division at the Maryland Department of the Environment. Most of the fuel was taken straight out of the crane, and crews were able to absorb fuel that leaked on the ground, Sharon said. Sharon said he saw no evidence of any fuel spilling into the water, but a containment boom was floated near the wreckage as a precaution. The department will continue to monitor the area over several days. "It's the first time we've dealt with a crane collapse down here," Sharon said. Lt. Comdr. Mark Hammond, a senior investigation officer with the U.S. Coast Guard in Baltimore, said the ship's crew was trying to moor the vessel when an apparent mechanical problem prohibited them from slowing down. The ship was fully loaded with lumber, enabling it to knock the crane down without traveling very fast, Hammond said. "We're still piecing together a lot of facts of the case," Hammond said. The ship appears to have hit the pier and the crane simultaneously, Hammond said. He also said the lower part of the bow struck the cement portion of the pier, breaching the hull. Divers were inspecting the ship Saturday. "There was evidence last night of some flooding," Hammond said. The crane fell on land near the Dundalk Marine Terminal around 8:30 p.m. Friday. Crews responded within an hour and worked into early Saturday morning to recover fuel. Cahalan said the wreck will not have an impact on the daily operation of the port. But, he said, it will take days to remove the wreckage. "It is an unusual accident," Cahalan said. The vessel is owned by Star Shipping Line and is of Norwegian registry, Cahalan said. The ship was coming from Brazil.
3 crushed to death as crane boom slips By ChennaiOnline News Service Nagapattinam, July 24: Three labourers were crushed to death and two others seriously injured when a portion of a crane slipped and fell on them while they were being lifted to the surface of a pier under construction in a oil jetty in the seashore of nearby Nagore today, police said. Three representatives of the work contractor, who were overseeing the construction at the site, had been arrested in connection with the mishap while two assistants of the crane operator were said to be absconding, they said. The injured had been rushed to the Thanjavur Medical College Hospital, about 80 km from here, police said. The mishap occurred when the boom of the lifting portion of the crane slipped and fell on the victims while they were being lifted to the surface from the underneath the pier. (Agencies)
Toppled Crane Gets Lift at Last Residents of two apartment buildings in Jamaica were allowed back into their homes last night after workers using a monster crane were able to stabilize one that tipped over Monday. Residents of the 174 apartments cheered when they were given the all-clear from city officials shortly before 7 p.m. yesterday. They were forced out of their homes behind State Supreme Court Monday night after a crane - weighing 130 tons - toppled onto the outside wall of the nine-story court building at 88-11 Sutphin Ave. Two people - the crane operator and a courthouse worker - were injured. As dozens of spectators watched, a crane weighing 625 tons lifted the fallen crane into the air at 5 p.m. A second crane, weighing about 150 tons, also was used to right the toppled one. It took workers at least four attempts at righting the fallen crane. The fourth try came after workers removed a section of the downed crane's boom to reduce its weight. Frank McCarton, a spokesman for the city's Office of Emergency Management, said the two six-story apartment buildings on 148th Street, facing the back of the courthouse, were closed after officials declared the crane unsafe Monday night. The courthouse, which has been undergoing renovations for the past year, was evacuated at the time of the 3 p.m. accident and was closed yesterday. Commissioner John Odermatt of the Office of Emergency Management said the courthouse would probably be reopened by 1 p.m. today. The apartment buildings were evacuated about 9 p.m. Monday, and at 2 a.m. yesterday the American Red Cross placed 51 residents in a shelter set up at nearby PS 82. Jose Monson, 40, a factory worker, said he spent the night outside. At 7 a.m. yesterday, he said he was allowed to return briefly to his apartment. "They only gave us 10 minutes to go in and change," Monson said. "I had to miss work because of that." Ashiqur Khan, 47, a taxi cab driver, said police ordered him, his wife and their two daughters to leave their apartment at 9:15 p.m. Monday. They chose to stay at a friend's house. "The police didn't tell us how long we'd have to be out," he said yesterday. "It's awful."
CRANE TOPPLES An outdoor concert in Winchcombe was nearly called off when a crane fell and smashed on to the stage. Tribute band the Bootleg Beatles were just hours from their performance at Sudeley Castle when the accident happened last night. A replacement stage was found and the concert went ahead.
Crane Topples Onto Courthouse By Akiko Matsuda and Herbert Lowe, STAFF WRITERS Two people were injured, one seriously, when a crane being used at a renovation project at a Queens courthouse collapsed and crashed into the side of the building, police said. The accident prompted the evacuation of the State Supreme Court building at 88-11 Sutphin Blvd. in Jamaica, which has been under renovation for about a year. The crane operator and an employee of the Public Administrator's Office on the sixth floor of the courthouse were injured and taken to Mary Immaculate Hospital. The operator was listed in critical but stable condition with head trauma, said Natasha Burke, a hospital spokeswoman. The courthouse employee, who was hit by glass from shattered windows, was alert and in stable condition, Burke said. Their names were not released. The accident occurred shortly after 3 p.m. Assistant Fire Chief Joseph Callan said workers apparently did not know there was a catch basin under the foundation of the nine-story building that could not support the 150-foot-tall, 170-ton crane. "It sounded like a collapse," said Robert Godosky, an attorney working on the fifth floor. "I was sure the crane tipped over." Maria Marino, 54, of Elmhurst, was in the courthouse basement when the crane fell. "Everybody screamed and we went out, but nobody knew what happened." A larger crane was brought to the site to lift the fallen one. David Bookstaver, a spokesman for the New York State Office of Court Administration, said the courthouse was closed after the accident and would remain closed this morning. He said the building might be opened this afternoon if it is declared safe. Bookstaver said jurors with notices to report for service today should not. But he stressed that all other courthouses in Queens will be open and jurors should report as usual.
Athens Olympic Village Worker Dies By LISA ORKIN, Associated Press Writer ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Olympic Village officials demanded that construction companies bolster safety measures or face legal consequences after a fourth worker was killed in an accident on the building site. About 1,500 workers at the village called a 48-hour strike after a 32-year-old Romanian man was killed on Monday after falling off a crane. He was the fourth construction worker to die on the site this year. There have been complaints that construction companies have not been taking adequate safety measures in their effort to make up for construction delays at the village, to house 17,300 athletes and Olympic officials. The Olympic Village is one of the few construction projects for the 2004 Games that is ahead of schedule, and has been showcased by organizers as an example of how Athens has made up for years of lost time. The government has been working overtime to make up for delays that threatened to derail the Olympics. Greece's largest labor union, or GSEE, condemned what it described as the "indifference" to safety shown by contractors and said it was supporting the strike. "GSEE denounces this unacceptable situation that costs human lives, especially at a project that concerns the Olympic Games ( news - web sites)," the union said in a statement. Four Greek construction companies are building the village's residential area and they been promised bonuses of more than $12,000 for every section that is completed ahead of schedule. A state-run company, Olympic Village 2004 AE, is overseeing the construction. Representatives for workers have repeatedly complained of poor conditions, including a lack of drinking water, toilets and a general lack of oversight by officials. Some workers have complained they have no contracts, overtime pay or benefits. In a letter to company inspectors on the building site, the general manager of Olympic Village 2004 AE said there was "insufficient" implementation of safety measures. "An investigation of the serious accidents until now have shown that beyond the human factor they are particularly due to ... insufficient application of the required measures and safety regulations," Constantinos Lazarides said in his letter. He added that efforts by contractors to prevent such accidents are "deemed inadequate," and authorized company inspectors to take action — including lawsuits — to ensure safety measures are implemented.
Crane hydraulic fluid leaked into river
A leaky crane dumped between 40 and 60 gallons of hydraulic fluid into the Spokane River on Wednesday afternoon, the Washington State Emergency Management Division reported. The spill occurred at around 4:30 p.m from a crane at a construction site on East Trent Avenue, just east of downtown and south of the Gonzaga University campus. Booms were deployed in the river to clean up the fluid. Rob Harper, a representative with emergency management, said the spill was stabilized within a half hour. Traces of the fluid could still be seen floating in the water late Wednesday. The Department Ecology could not yet determine what damage the fluid may have caused, if any, Harper said.
Trucker escapes serious injury
A TRUCKER narrowly escaped horrific injury after his lorry was lifted off the ground by an enormous crane in a terrifying incident at Felixstowe port. The Evening Star can today reveal details of the incident during which the driver found his lorry lifted ten feet off the ground after a bolt on one of the twistlocks holding the container on to his trailer failed to work. The drama happened just as the High Court in London was hearing about a similar accident. As port chiefs heard they would be paying around #250,000 compensation to Derek Mayes, who suffered severe brain damage after his lorry was picked up and fell more than 20 feet, another driver was facing the same situation. In the latest incident it is understood that a bolt which had been undone sprang back into place, which meant that when the rubber-tyred gantry crane lifted the box, it lifted the whole lorry - cab and trailer. The driver was still inside the cab and could do little as his truck was hauled into the air, dangling with the cab facing toward the ground. As he feared it would plummet downwards and smack into the concrete quayside and leave him dead or with serious injuries, his predicament was spotted by workers who alerted the crane driver. The driver was able to gently lower the lorry back onto the quay, although it still smashed into another container, damaging it, and the weight left the trailer buckled and a write-off. Port police and a fire crew attended the scene, and also a port safety investigation officer, who is looking into the incident, which happened on Wednesday. It was the latest in a series of incident in which lorries have been lifted into the air, and in a number of cases drivers have suffered serious injuries. Brian Robinson, of Cavendish Park, Felixstowe, was awarded #87,829 after his lorry fell ten feet after being lifted by a crane. He suffered a fractured spine. He was left unable to work after the accident, which again was caused when twistlocks failed to undo correctly. Mr Mayes, now 65, of Stowmarket, almost died when his lorry was lifted into the air and he fell from a cab window as it slewed on its side. He suffered brain damage and needs constant care and support from his family. One lorry driver who spoke to the Evening Star said: "I have seen lorries lifted more than 30 feet in the air, hanging by their boxes. "You just don't know what is inside those containers - it could be three tonnes or 30 tonnes - and whether you are going to come crashing down or not. There have been quite a few near misses. "I cannot understand why we cannot get out of our cabs like we do at Isle of Grain, Tilbury, Southampton and just about everywhere else." Felixstowe port takes health and safety very seriously and has invested millions of pounds into safety systems and training. It says it has an excellent safety record for the number of accidents at the terminal, both minor and serious, for the type of working environment and size of the business. Port corporate affairs manager Paul Davey said internal investigations were held by safety staff into all incidents. Drivers were told to remain in their cabs during the loading and unloading operations on the quayside. "The unlocking of twistlocks is the responsibility of the lorry driver and this should be done at the gate," he said. "They should then remain in the cab. We have discussed this matter at length with the Health and Safety Executive and that is felt to be the safest way of doing things - that is the consensus of opinion among all the expert professionals. "There would be greater danger for the drivers if they were to get out of their cabs as the drivers of the rubber-tyred gantry cranes, which are heavy pieces of machinery, have a restricted view and cannot see the far side of the wheels." Other ports did operate different systems. The Isle of Grain has a remote-controlled crane system where vehicles wait in bays and drivers leave the cabs, and other ports also had different procedures.
UPDATE, Fine proposed in T-REX accident
Crane company will meet with OSHA to discuss citation
By Kevin Flynn, News Staff Writer The Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Wednesday proposed a $5,000 fine stemming from a T-REX construction accident that injured three people. Absolute Crane of Erie was placing concrete barriers along the northbound lanes of Interstate 25 between Interstate 225 and the Quincy Avenue overpass the evening of April 3 when the crane tipped over. Two cars ran into the boom of the crane, and three people in the vehicles were injured. The owner of Absolute Crane will meet with OSHA representatives in two weeks to discuss the citation. The crane operator can contest the findings of accident investigators. The fine, if any, isn't final until after the meeting. Scott Bonacci of Absolute Crane declined to discuss the position he will take but criticized OSHA's release of the complaint before the meeting. "You shouldn't put out a report until the report is final," he said. Herb Gibson, OSHA's area director in Denver, said the citation lists four alleged violations of procedures for operating the crane. Among the concerns were the deployment of outriggers, beams that extend horizontally from the vehicle, two to a side, to provide a stable footing when lifting heavy objects. The findings also claim that the 68-foot boom had been lowered nearly three degrees farther toward horizontal than called for in the manual and that the crane's two front tires weren't touching the ground while handling the concrete barriers.
UPDATE, Work stops to remember mates killed in steel fall By MATHEW DEARNALEY
Workmates of two men crushed to death by tumbling steel at a big South Auckland mill on Tuesday will attend a memorial service on the site this morning. Pacific Steel's rolling mill and despatch area remained shut yesterday and are unlikely to reopen before tomorrow, as an independent engineer continues an examination of a gantry crane under which the pair were working. The site's 180 or so shift workers were consulted yesterday morning before the smelter part of its operation - in which scrap steel is recycled as billets before being turned into wire in the rolling mill - was restarted following the tragedy. All work will pause for this morning's ceremony, organised by the management of the Fletcher Building site. Gareth Lloyd George, the 55-year-old co-owner of maintenance contracting firm Steelcraft Engineering, and his employee and workmate Raymond Rutherford Wilson, 56, were killed after a two-tonne bundle of steel fell from the electromagnetic crane. Mr George, a former Welsh coalmine fitter, worked at Pacific Steel for more than 18 years and had seven employees, including one of his three sons. Mr George and Mr Wilson were said to be good friends. Labour Department Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) inspectors have issued a prohibition order preventing use of the crane, which travels along rails below the roof of the mill's despatch building, until they receive a report from the engineer. OSH Auckland regional manager John Forrest said it could take months to find out exactly what went wrong and to decide whether any legal action was called for. The chief executive of Fletcher Building's building products group, Andrew Reding, said the smelter was fired up again yesterday only after a meeting with all shift workers on the site. "Let's not underestimate how devastated everyone is," he said. After a four-year effort to raise safety standards, everyone was left struggling to comprehend how the two subcontractors could have been killed. "Everyone is asking on the site: How the hell could this happen? Everyone is desperate to understand what happened." Mr Reding said management representatives had visited the families of both men, and had made counsellors available for shocked workers.
Worker Injured In Mining Accident
Safety investigators are looking into what caused a mining accident that injured a 40-year-old worker Wednesday morning in Hartland, Mich. Donald Mate of Belleville, Mich., was injured while attempting to assemble a boom of a large dragline-type crane at the Hartland Sand and Gravel Co. mine on Pleasant Valley Road, according to Michigan State Police in Brighton. The boom reportedly shifted, and Mate became pinned between the boom and the machinery track. Mate was freed by co-workers and was treated by paramedics. He was airlifted by Med-Flight to St. Joseph Hospital in Ypsilanti. He reportedly suffered severe trauma to his chest, shoulder and leg areas. Federal Mining Safety investigators and the safety department of the Levy Corp. - the owner of the mine -- are investigating.
Crane Operator Rescued From Falling Tree
A 60-year-old crane operation had to be rescued when a 4-ton tree fell on the cab of the machine he was operating. Jacksonville Fire-Rescue personnel used the jaws-of-life to cut the man out of the crane. A fire spokesman said the man was believed to have broken his foot and possibly a rib, but the injuries were not believed to be life-threatening. The man was an employee of Carter Contracting of Jacksonville, and was using a crane to clear trees at Fifth Street and Lewis, where a warehouse is scheduled to be built. The man -- a Middleburg resident whose name has not been released -- was taken by air ambulance to Shands Jacksonville Medical Center.
Man shaken when old gas tank explodes
By DARYL FARNSWORTH, BEE STAFF WRITER
A crane operator accidentally punctured a gas tank on an old piece of equipment at Modesto Junk Co., causing an explosion and fire Thursday. Fuel from the punctured gas tank spread through a pile of metal rubble and burst into flame after the explosion, said Ron Holmes, a Modesto Fire Department battalion chief. Crane operator Jose Esparaza was shaken but didn't appear to be seriously injured, Holmes said. Esparaza complained of ringing in his ears. He was taken to a Modesto hospital where he was treated and released. Employees said all equipment that has gas or propane tanks is supposed to be empty before they are dropped off, but occasionally a partially filled tank slips through.
Coroner's inquest recommends more safety training for man-lift operators
SAINT JOHN, N.B. (CP) -- A coroner's inquest has recommended more safety training for man-lift operators, as well as improved sensors to help prevent deaths on the hydraulic lifts. The inquest in Saint John was looking into the death of Richard Johnston, 22, who died while working at the Irving Oil refinery two years ago. The Alberta man suffered fatal head injuries when he was thrown from the basket of the hydraulic man lift after the machine caught on a pipe. The inquest jury said late Monday there should be more training for man-lift operators. It also said there should be sensors on the basket of the man lift to help prevent them from colliding with objects in the air. During the hearings, a safety officer with the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission, testified the incident resulted from the failure of the operator of the man lift to recognize what was happening and respond appropriately. The operator, who works on the ground, told the inquest he had received fewer than five minutes of hands-on training on the job site before he was given a certificate to run the machine. Dave Griessen, a spokesman for the provincial Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission, said the recommendations will be taken seriously. But he cautioned that sensor technology can't necessarily solve all safety problems. "We'll talk to the manufacturers about that. It can be complex because you don't want to create unsafe situations if you have automatic shutdown devices when such sensors go off," he said.
Worker Killed by Falling Steel
Mon Jun 17, 5:34 PM ET
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) - Steel reinforcing rods weighing more than half a ton broke loose as they were being lifted by a crane Monday and rained down on construction workers, killing one, officials said. The dead man was identified as Richard Ellis, 40. A second man suffered a minor injury. The steel rods are known as rebar and are used to reinforce concrete.
Contractor files suit in fatal crane collapse
Tucker McCormack, Register Staff
MILFORD — A Missouri-based contractor filed a $23 million suit Tuesday claiming the owners of Milford Power Co. reneged on an obligation to provide insurance to shield the contractor from financial liability in a February 2000 construction collapse that killed two workers and seriously injured a third.Black & Veatch filed the lawsuit in Superior Court against Milford Power Co. LLC and Hartford Fire Insurance Co., alleging breach of contract and seeking to recover $23 million in labor and construction costs that have gone unpaid since the fatal accident. The action is a counterclaim filed in response to a lawsuit brought against Black & Veatch by the power plant operator, which claims it is entitled to millions in damages for the contractor's delay in completing the 544-megawatt generating plant on time. The new plant is not yet operating. In 2000, the federal government cited Black & Veatch in a report on the accident, finding the "premature removal" of a temporary bracing caused a massive structure to collapse. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration citation against Black & Veatch was settled without the company making any admission of liability. According to a federal safety investigation, the steel building structure collapsed onto a crane, the bottom of which then struck two aerial lifts being used by workers. Kevin Winslow, 43, of Newington, and Wayne Most, 38, of West Hartford, were killed. A third worker, Robert Fitch, 62, of North Branford, was trapped inside a crane for eight hours and lost a leg. Fitch is suing Milford Power and Black & Veatch for negligence. In its counter suit, Black & Veatch claims the unforeseen impact of the building collapse on the project's timetable, combined with the "unavailability" of the required number of skilled tradesmen, has delayed the completion of the project "beyond the control and without the fault" of the contractor. The filing of the counterclaim comes on the heels of a U.S. District Court decision this year to dismiss a federal lawsuit by Black & Veatch that claimed the company was wrongly denied insurance coverage by the power plant operator and its insurer. In that case, the federal court found a lack of jurisdiction over the contractor's complaint. The court did order that a surety bond be substituted for a $23 million mechanic's lien filed against Milford Power Co. to secure payment for materials and other services provided by Black & Veatch. The countersuit by Black & Veatch is the latest civil case to arise out of a maze of litigation stemming from the February 2000 collapse. The counter suit will be consolidated, with other cases resulting from the power plant accident, in Superior Court in Rockville, where the complex litigation is handled, said Louis R. Pepe, a Hartford attorney representing Black & Veatch. The countersuit claims Black & Veatch suffered substantial financial harm, and that Milford Power misrepresented that it had obtained proper insurance indemnifying the contractor from wrongful death and other claims.
UPDATE, COMPANY FINED AFTER DEATH OF SITE WORKER
An engineering firm has been fined £30,000 after one of its workers was crushed to death on a Devon demolition site. Thomas Henderson, 46, was working for McLean and Gibson (Engineers) Ltd when he died in July 2000 at the St Regis paper mill site near Silverton, Devon, Exeter Crown Court was told. Mr Henderson died at the scene from chest injuries and a fractured skull when a barrel containing nuts and bolts which was being hoisted by a mobile crane, fell on him as he stood inside the container into which it was being loaded. The company, of Glenrothes, Fife, Scotland, appeared in court for sentence after pleading guilty at Cullompton Magistrates' Court on April 15 to a breach of Health and Safety rules. The firm, whose managing director, William Greig, was in court, was also ordered to pay costs of £3,960. The court was told by Simon Laws, prosecuting for the HSE, that the firm was contracted to dismantle St Regis mill. The court was told the death of Mr Henderson, from the Glenrothes area, on July 31, was the result of inadequate procedures, which had been improved since the accident.
Storm topples cranes in Bulgarian sea port
SOFIA, Bulgaria - A rain storm swept through Bulgaria's largest sea port on Saturday, toppling two pillar cranes and several cargo containers but causing no injuries, an official said. "The wind gusted at some 180 kilometers (110 miles) per hour," said Mitko Georgiev, the civil defense chief at the Black Sea port of Varna, 469 kilometers (296 miles) northeast of Sofia. Authorities did not immediately give an estimate for damage in the region.
UPDATE, Man killed at job site is named
by Patti Lewis
The victim of a fatal crane accident at the Wal-Mart Super Center building site has been identified as Randall Alan Marry, 45, of Phoenix, Nogales Police Capt. William Ybarra said. As reported by the Nogales International on Tuesday, Marry was working on a crane last Friday morning when it fell and crushed him. Summit Builders is the general contractor for the project, but Marry was employed by Statewide Erectors, said Jeff Stone, Chief Executive Officer of Summit Builders. "As a company and personally, I feel terrible for the family and about the accident," Stone said. "We've been in business for quite a number of years, and nothing like this has ever happened," Stone said. Summit Builders, along with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), is conducting an investigation into the accident, Stone said. "The incident is under investigation, and I cannot comment at this time," Mark Norton, Tucson Office Supervisor for OSHA, said. Shirley Veatch, office manager for Statewide Erectors, said she could not comment.
Man crushed at Wal-Mart
By Kathleen Vandervoet
A 45-year-old man was crushed to death Friday morning at the construction site of the new Wal-Mart SuperCenter in Nogales. The man, whose name was not available on Friday, was an employee of Statewide Erectors, Inc., Nogales Fire Chief Dennis Van Auken said. Police Chief John Kissinger said information showed the man, who was a crane operator, was a Phoenix resident. Van Auken said workers were in the process of disassembling the crane when the boom fell and crushed the man. Van Auken said the man was pronounced dead at the scene when responders were unable to detect any pulse. Medical support for such decisions is provided through radio contact with University Medical Center in Tucson, Van Auken said. He said the fire department received the emergency call at 8:27 a.m. and responded with both medical units, Engine 1, Ladder 1, a battalion chief and himself. Construction began in early March on the 26-acre site of the $10.2 million Wal-Mart on Grand Avenue south of Mariposa Road.
Overturned Truck Slows South Bay Commute
Joe Belden
There was no joy Tuesday night for commuters heading home to Blossom Valley on Highway 85 in San Jose. The Santa Teresa southbound off-ramp was scheduled to be closed until Wednesday morning after a construction crane crashed into the scaffolding overhead. Investigators say the crane operator made a critical mistake."He had just unloaded some of his material, and failed to lower the boom into the bed of his vehicle," said San Jose Fire Capt. Mark Mooney. "So that boom was up. This is operator error." The truck rolled over after a steel beam hit it. The driver was rescued with only minor scrapes and cuts. The ramp will reopen after structural engineers check it for safety.
$1 million awarded to man injured on construction job
By MICHELLE MILLHOLLON, Advocate staff writer
A jury late Thursday awarded about $1 million to a man whose heel was crushed and back was fractured in a construction accident. Jurors in state District Court in Baton Rouge assigned a crane company 38 percent of the fault in the accident. The remaining liability was attributed to a construction company that settled out of court before the trial began. Louis Chapman, 39, filed a products liability lawsuit against Koehring Cranes after he was injured while working on top of a building at 2250 Florida Blvd. on May 16, 1996. Chapman claimed a design defect caused the boom of the crane to drop while he was underneath it. He jumped 25 feet to a concrete slab to avoid being hit by the boom, landing on and crushing his left heel, said his attorney, Kevin Monahan. Koehring Cranes, which manufactured the 1970 crane, pointed out that Chapman wasn't wearing a safety harness to guard against a fall. The company also said the crane operator could've stopped the boom by engaging the correct buttons. Koehring claimed the construction company that owned the crane failed to maintain it. One expert testified that corrosion contributed to the accident. Monahan said there had been previous problems with the bolt system on that particular model crane. The product safety engineer for the crane company claimed he had no prior knowledge of a bolt breaking, Monahan said. Attorneys for Koehring couldn't be reached for comment Friday. The jury reached the verdict after a two-week trial in state District Judge Tim Kelley's court.
Crane falls, damages museum under construction at Baylor
By MIKE ANDERSON Tribune-Herald staff writer
A crane overturned at BaylorUniversity Wednesday, damaging part of a $23 million museum construction project. No one was injured in the accident which happened about 11 a.m. in the 1200 block of University-Parks Drive. A crew was working on the Harry and AnnaJeanesDiscoveryCenter when the crane fell over. Baylor spokeswoman Lori Scott-Fogleman was helping with a video shoot across the street from the construction site when she heard the the crane collapse. "I was looking in another direction when I heard this creaking sound and then a crash as it fell over," she said. "I turned around and it was across the building." The arm of the crane crashed through the middle of the building, causing a section of the front to collapse. Larry Brumley, Baylor associate vice president for communication, said he was not sure what caused the crane to topple. "What we do know at this point is the crane wasn't lifting anything at the time," he said. Officials with Temple-based BFW Construction Co., the project's contractor, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. The building is part of the planned Sue and Frank Mayborn Natural Science and CulturalHistoryMuseum, which will also include the Gov. Bill and VaraDanielHistoricVillage and the Center for Museum Studies. The center will house laboratories for the university's museum studies department. The damaged building will house the OllieMaeMoenDiscoveryCenter, a 200-seat theater with space for traveling exhibitions. The building will also include recreations of Texas caves, rock shelters and East Texas forests as part of the JohnK.StreckerMuseum. Construction on the project began late in 2001 and was initially scheduled to be completed in 2004. Brumley said it was unclear how badly the building was damaged or how long this would delay the project's completion. He said crews were set to pour concrete for the building's second floor on Saturday, but that part of the project would be put on hold for an unknown period of time.
UPDATE, Worker crushed after crane hits cable holding steel frame
By Mark Arner, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER, May 15, 2002
A 31-year-old man working on the San Diego Trolley extension was killed yesterday when a crane accident led to the collapse of an 80-foot column being built to support a bridge, authorities said. The 12:12 p.m. accident west of Waring Road apparently happened when part of the crane struck a cable that was holding up the steel frame for the bridge support, police said. The impact snapped the cable, causing the steel frame to collapse. Three construction workers were on the bridge support at the time, authorities said. Two jumped from the frame when they saw what happened. They suffered minor cuts and bruises. Rosendo Luna of San Diego was unable to escape the falling steel and was crushed, the county Medical Examiner 's office said. The crane operator was not identified. A construction foreman said that yesterday was the crane operator's first day on the job. The foreman, who declined to be identified, said he was giving hand signals to the crane operator, but that the operator appeared to be looking up at the time. "He wasn't taking my signals," the foreman said. "He was looking up in the air and revving it up to full throttle." The accident is being investigated by Cal-OSHA, but investigators with that agency declined to comment yesterday. The fatal accident halted construction on the project for at least a day, authorities said. The delay, however, could be extended, said Nancy Irwin, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Transit Development Board, which oversees trolley planning and operations. The project design and construction management company is Washington Infrastructure Services Inc. Modern Continental is the project's primary contractor, and the company's name was printed on the crane involved in the accident. Pacific Coast Steel Inc. is the subcontractor building the framing for the bridge support, Irwin said. Representatives from the companies referred questions to Irwin. "Everyone at MTDB offers its condolences to the family of the victim," she said. The accident happened near the site of a future Grantville trolley station, north of Interstate 8, between San Diego State University and Qualcomm Stadium. The construction is part of the 5.9-mile Mission Valley East trolley extension, which will run from Qualcomm Stadium through SDSU and connect with the trolley system's Orange Line in La Mesa . The project is on schedule and set for completion in December 2004. The $431 million project is funded primarily with federal gasoline taxesand various state and local taxes. The 45-mile trolley system was most recently expanded in 1997 with the opening of a $220 million, six-mile segment from Old Town to just east of Qualcomm Stadium.
UPDATE, OSHA issues citation in death of construction worker By: CLIFF DESPRES, Staff writer
A Dallas-based construction company plans to contest a citation issued recently by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration for a safety violation in the death of a construction worker at the site of Lewisville 's new city hall two months ago.The $2,500 citation was handed down April 15 after OSHA officials investigated the death of 27-year-old Brian Keith Cummings of Howe , Texas , who was struck by a swinging crane March 14 and pinned between a large auger bit and a heavy counterweight on the back side of the crane. "No barricade was put up around the swing radius of the crane to prevent employees from being struck by the counterweight and superstructure of the crane," according to the citation document. "(That area) shall be barricaded in such a manner as to prevent an employee from being struck or crushed by the crane." The citation was issued to N.L. Schutte Drilling Inc., the company Cummings worked for. N.L. Schutte was subcontracted by Commercial Structures & Interiors Inc. - the city hall project's general contractor - to do the foundation work for the structure at 151 W. Church St. Clayton Stephens, vice president of N.L. Schutte, said the penalty will be fought. "It will be contested," he said. Stephens declined to comment on how the company would defend against the alleged violation."What my grounds are for contesting; that I won't reveal until I go before OSHA," he said. "It is a serious violation and it will affect us tremendously." OSHA conducts an investigation whenever a construction worker is killed on a site. In March, Cummings was cleaning the auger bit when he was struck by a crane being operated by his uncle, according to the citation document. He was transported to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas where he underwent surgery, but died about five hours after the incident due to severe crushing injuries. Randy Sadler, one of Cummings' supervisors at N.L. Schutte, was saddened by Cummings' death. "He was never not smiling," said Sadler after the incident. "Everyone who knew him fell in love with him, and he was one of our hardest workers. "Stephens said that, despite any citations, losing Cummings was difficult for everybody. "I knew Keith and I knew his uncle for quite a while," he said. "It's like losing a family member in a car wreck. It's hard to deal with. We lost part of our family." Stephens said N.L. Schutte has currently completed its work on the new city hall, but will return later to complete another phase of work. The new $9.69 million, 62,000 square-foot facility will replace the existing City Hall at 1197 W. Main St. Donna Huerta, communications manager for Lewisville, said the construction schedule has been slightly delayed because of inclement whether, but the project will make up any lost construction time in the summer months. She said the structure will likely be completed in May 2003.
£5 device would have saved welder's life David Martin, 49, a welder employed by Service Welding Ltd, died in an accident in December 2000 that was entirely preventable. Mr Martin, working at the company's premises in Wallsend, sustained fatal crush injuries when a heavy steel plate being moved by overhead crane fell on him. The load slipped from the crane hook because a catch that would have prevented it doing so had fallen off some months earlier and had not been replaced. The company's insurers had drawn attention to the matter of the missing devices but there was a failure to act on the advice. Prosecuting HSE official Alec Burns told the court: "The hooks when supplied to the company in 1997 had safety latches on them. They had come off. They are easy to replace and cheap, and had those latches been on, the chain would not have come off." Newcastle Crown Court fined Service Welding Limited, who admitted the offence, £25,000 for failing to meet the minimum requirements of health and safety legislation in the circumstances of Mr Martin's death. The company is now no longer trading. A Martin family statement read: "This was a tremendous loss to our family and friends, a bereavement which we will never get over or be able to come terms with. No amount of money will ever bring Dave back, but lessons should be learned and a clear signal sent to employers." Judge Whitburn acknowledged that the company had heeded safety in the past but concluded: "Had safety latches been fitted then this accident with all its tragic consequence for Mr Martin and his family would have been avoided and all for just £5." Legal representative for the company expressed their regret on its behalf, telling the court it was "deeply, deeply sorry."
UPDATE, Fatal Decatur, Ala., Crushing Accident Could Cost Alabama Company $43,000 in OSHA Fines
DECATUR , Ala. -- Failure to protect workers from crushing accidents may cost Huntsville, Ala.-based Southeastern Mobile Crushing, Inc. $43,050, according to the U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The fine follows an inspection of a fatal accident at a Decatur , Ala. , asphalt plant. On Jan. 04, a crew employed by the construction material recycling company was setting up equipment at the Decatur plant in preparation for a recycling operation. In connection with the set-up, a trackhoe machine and makeshift sling were used to raise a conveyor which was stuck in the transport position. While employees were under the machine trying to beat it loose, the chain sling broke. One employee was crushed by the falling conveyor. "A major cause of worker deaths is being struck by an object, and approximately 75 percent of these kinds of fatalities involve heavy equipment," said Roberto Sanchez, OSHA's Birmingham area director. "With proper training and procedures, this crushing accident could have been avoided." Following an inspection of the fatality, OSHA cited Southeastern Mobile Crushing, Inc. for 13 serious violations of safety standards. The citations, which drew a total of $43,050 in fines, include using unapproved pins to support the crusher which can lead to crushing accidents; using front-end loaders to lift and transport personnel; lack of proper railing to prevent fall hazards; no head protection; no lockout-tagout program to render machinery inoperable during maintenance and repair; damaged lifting/rigging equipment which had not been properly certified or inspected; electrical hazards due to defective welding equipment; lack of machine guarding, and lack of a hazard communication program. Serious violations are those where there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result and the employer knew, or should have known, of the hazard. Southeastern Mobile Crushing, Inc. has 15 working days to contest OSHA's citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Inspection of the Decatur facility was conducted by OSHA's area office located at Vestavia Village , 2047 Canyon Rd. , Birmingham , Ala. 35216-1981 ; telephone: (205) 731-1534.
Strong Winds Topple Crane At UCF
Strong winds were blamed for knocking over a crane Tuesday at the University of Central Florida campus in Orlando . The crane was being used in the construction of a new education building, WESH NewsChannel 2 reported. Trees in the area broke the crane's fall, witnesses said. No injuries were reported, and officials said there was only a little damage to the top floor of the new building, which is scheduled to open in 2003.
UPDATE, After T-REX accident, cranes to be used less often
Forklifts and backhoes will be used to place concrete barriers for channeling traffic
By Kevin Flynn, News Staff Writer, April 25, 2002
The T-REX contractor no longer will use cranes to set most barricades along the Interstates 25 and 225 construction zone as a result of the April 3 accident that injured three people. Instead, Southeast Corridor Constructors, contractor on the five-year, $1.7 billion addition of lanes and light-rail, will use forklifts and backhoes to lift and place the concrete barriers that channel traffic through the work zone. Cranes will be used only when the layout of the work area prevents the smaller equipment from maneuvering, spokeswoman Karen Morales said. Investigators are preparing a report on how the nighttime accident happened. A crane setting barriers on I-25 just north of the I-225 interchange toppled onto the northbound lanes. Two cars were damaged, and three people injured. The subcontractor in charge of placing the barriers was suspended, but could reapply for the job, Morales said. In the meantime, Southeast Corridor Constructors is doing the barricade work. T-REX planners expect a lot of barriers to shift and change as construction speeds up. Detours, slowdowns and lane shifting will provide a daily driving adventure in what is being called the "Summer of Pain" for I-25 drivers. "The road is going to change every day; sometimes it will be changed during the day," Morales said. "The road will be different in the morning than it was when you drove home the night before." T-REX officials laid out their summer construction plans at a briefing Wednesday. High on the list is demolition of the old Woodwinds Apartments west of the University Boulevard interchange to clear the way for the first light rail station. New exit ramps on I-225 will provide a detour for motorists headed for the Belleview Avenue exit of I-25. Currently, I-225 southbound traffic dumps into I-25's far left lane, creating a dangerous weave over to the right lane for those exiting at Belleview, four-tenths of a mile away. Instead, Belleview-bound drivers on I-225 will be directed to exit at DTC Boulevard , before reaching I-25. From there they can go south to Belleview. Other major milestones in construction this summer are: the expected early completion of the new Franklin Street bridge, opening the new Steele Street bridge, demolition of the Washington Street, Downing Street and Louisiana Avenue bridges, expansion of the Evans Avenue bridge, opening the first permanent stretch of new concrete highway northbound between Quincy and Hampden avenues, widening from Dry Creek Road to Evans and the start of reconstruction of the I-25-225 interchange. Also Wednesday, officials urged drivers to be alert along the 19-mile construction zone. They cited the death of a highway worker on the E-470 project in Adams County by a hit-and-run driver April 17 and two accidents in the T-REX project in the past week. Both times, apparently drunken drivers slammed at near full-speed into trucks equipped with bright, lighted detour arrows, beacons and swirling yellow warning lights. Only minor injuries resulted.
Man killed in crane tragedy
April 23, 2002 14:34
A grieving wife today spoke of her torment at losing her childhood sweetheart in a freak workplace accident. Roger Ireland, 52, of Oval Road , Costessey, died after a large steel plate being carried by a crane swung around and hit him on the back of the head at scrap metal merchants Easco, in Lenwade. Mr Ireland 's wife Margaret today spoke of the loss of her beloved husband. The couple were childhood sweethearts at Costessey High School but drifted apart and married other people before getting back together and marrying in 1998. "We loved each other for several years and re-found each other," she said. "We would have celebrated four years of marriage this year. The love we had was never lost. We had found each other again." Mr Ireland 's brother Robert, from Attleborough, today claimed Roger had warned his employers the crane was too close to workers. "He had complained the day before about safety," he said. "He was concerned about only having a plastic helmet and that the crane was working so close. He had warned them something like this might happen. "I hope by speaking out like this I can save someone else from dying. "He was so safety conscious, he had left his wedding ring in a cigarette box in the car because he knew it was dangerous to work with metal while wearing a ring. The police gave it back to his wife. "He was a marvellous man. He had a heart bypass a few years ago. He needn't have been at work but he loved his job and it kept him busy." Mr Ireland was a keen collector of Dinky toys and was well known on the car boot sale circuit in Norwich . Another brother Peter Ireland, of Hockering, said Roger would be greatly missed. "It was a tragic and violent death. I have heard it was his best mate operating the crane. He enjoyed life to the full and was well known in Norwich ." Mr Ireland leaves an 83-year-old mother, five brothers, two sisters, a wife, a son and a stepson. A memorial service will be held at St Edmunds, in Costessey, on May 1, before a cremation at St Faith's Crematorium. His dying wish was to have his ashes scattered in Colney. Brother Robert added: "He said: 'if the trees are breathing, then I will be breathing'." The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) were due to attend the Atlas Works site in Lenwade today to continue their investigation at Easco, which began on Friday when the accident happened. An HSE spokeswoman said: "The man was struck on the head by a steel plate held by a grab on a crane. The plate was 2m by 1.5m and 1.5cm thick. "The HSE will be making inquiries as to the competency of the crane driver as part of its investigation. "The HSE investigation began at Easco on Friday morning and is ongoing." Norfolk police confirmed they attended the scene at 7.45am on Friday morning and contacted the HSE. An ambulance was called to the site at 7.20am . Matt Ware, a spokesman for the East Anglian Ambulance Trust, said paramedics were called to the yard but Mr Ireland was confirmed dead at the scene. Andre Serruys, managing director of Easco, refused to say if complaints had been made by employees about working near to the crane, prior to the accident. He issued the following statement: "An incident occurred at Easco recycling premises, Lenwade, on Friday April 19 at approx 7.10am, tragically the result of which an employee suffered fatal injuries. "An investigation is under way, and until such time further information is available, it would be inappropriate to speculate. "The crane operator was and is extremely qualified." Easco appeared in court in February charged with mishandling controlled waste which could harm human health. The company is charged on three counts of treating, storing and disposing of waste materials likely to cause pollution to the environment or harm human health at a site at Bentinck Dock, King's Lynn . It also faces three charges of the treatment storage and disposal of waste materials not in accordance with a waste management licence. The final charge against the firm is that it disposed of waste on land without a waste management licence authorising the deposit on March 29 last year. The alleged offences, if proven, would breach the Environmental Protection Act of 1990. The case was adjourned for a plea and directions hearing which is due to be heard this month. Easco's yard at Lenwade is on one of the biggest industrial sites in Norfolk . Serruys Property Company bought it for £6 million in 1993. The company is owned by millionaire Norwich businessman Harry Serruys, a former scrap lorry driver's mate. An inquest into Mr Ireland 's death was due to be opened in Norwich tomorrow.
UPDATE, Firm fined $75,000 for crane accident
TWO workers died when a construction-crane boom collapsed at a building site last Sept 14. The falling boom crushed one man and caused the other to fall to his death. The accident happened at the site of a six-storey high-technology manufacturing plant in Tampines Avenue 10. Yesterday, STL Machinery, which operates and rents out construction equipment, was fined $75,000 for using a wire rope that was unable to support the boom. The boom fell because the rope snapped. It was the first time the company had committed such an offence in its 10 years of operation, said its lawyer, Mr P. Jeya Putra. The message for a safe working environment has been driven home, he said, as the number of fatal construction-site accidents had fallen to 27 last year, from 49 the year before.He said the unsuitable wire rope was used on the advice of the wire suppliers and STL Machinery was 'acting in reliance on the advice'. But Magistrate Eric Tin said that if the company chose to depend solely on its supplier's advice without making more checks on the rope's suitability, then 'they must now reap what they sow'.
Firm wrecked by crane load
By Steve Castle
A business in Willenhall was reduced to rubble when a 6-ton portable building dropped off a crane. The freak accident at Newhall Street in the town centre last night happened as the structure was being lifted into place as part of a refurbishment. Power lines, phone cables and a lamp post were also brought down. The building, which had been bought for more than #11,000 the previous day, was left tilting precariously, and other factory units in the area had to be evacuated. A van was crushed under the weight of the concrete structure and a workshop was ruined. "The business is finished, I am bankrupt and five good workers will soon be on the dole," said David Corbett, aged 37, of Carts and Kiosks. "I was speechless, ab-solutely gobsmacked, when it just slipped its straps and harnesses and dropped 18 feet off the crane onto the business which I have spent nearly 20 years building up from scratch. "But there is no point crying over spilt milk," said Mr Corbett, who recited the Kipling poem If to firefighters and police investigating the incident. The poem starts with the line: "If you can keep your head when all about you are los-ing theirs and blaming it on you". Mr Corbett had bought the building for #11,500 and was having it transported to his base in Willenhall where it was to be refurbished before being sold on. He said ABA Cranes were not to blame for the incident but he would be contacting the makers of the straps and harnesses today. No-one was hurt, as the area had been cleared as a precaution. The building remained impaled by the lamp post today and was still in the same position but phone and power lines had been restored.
CRANE COLLAPSE A LUCKY 'BREAK'
By IKIMULISA SOCKWELL-MASON
Miraculously, not a single person was injured when a construction crane dropped tons of steel beams onto Madison Avenue at 42nd Street just before noon yesterday. A man washing windows on the 23rd floor of the building opposite the construction site, the new headquarters for CIBC World Markets, was an ear-witness to the near-disaster. "You could hear it was overloaded," said the washer, who calls himself Joey Windows. "I could hear this grinding noise, and then you heard this boom and clank of metal." A worker with the construction crew at the site said the hydraulic system failed when they started hoisting the rust-colored steel beams from the flatbed of a truck. The worker said the beams weighed between 7 and 8 tons. Only the area adjacent to the truck was restricted to traffic, although the beams were scattered all over the street.
Lifting operation fatality A labourer engaged in the removal of equipment from a Devon paper mill was crushed to death when a 300kg drum, which was full of nuts and bolts and suspended by frayed fibre slings, fell and struck him on the chest and head when he slipped. "The slings used were in a sorry state. There were signs of tearing and they were well used," said prosecutor Thomas Wake at Cullompton Magistrates Court of the incident in July 2000 in which Thomas Henderson,46, died. "The slings were shown to be ripped, torn apart and tied back together. They should have been thrown away, destroyed there and then."McLean and Gibson of Glenrothes admitted failing to meet legislative requirements in the lifting operation. Sentencing will take place at the Crown Court.
AEP worker electrocuted
By TIM LOGAN, Tribune Staff Writer
ELKHART -- A worker for American Electric Power Co. died Thursday when he accidentally touched a power line carrying 12,000 volts. Jeff Dittmar, 27, of Elkhart, was killed immediately, said AEP spokesman Tom Kratt. Dittmar was in a bucket truck about 17 feet off the ground installing a third power line between two poles, Kratt said. Somehow, Dittmar touched one of the two live lines and was electrocuted. The accident occurred about 8:45 a.m. in the 23300 block of County Road 6 northeast of Elkhart. It caused an electrical substation to shut down and cut power to nearly 1,000 homes and businesses in the area for about an hour. Dittmar grew up in northern Michigan but had worked at the utility in Elkhart for seven years, Kratt said. He was an experienced line mechanic. "This is unbelievably tragic," Kratt said. "It's going to hit our guys pretty hard." Both AEP and the Elkhart County Sheriff's Department will conduct investigations, but it appears to have been an accident. Elkhart County Coroner Dr. Jeff Landrum said he would likely conduct an autopsy today. "Death was certainly by electrocution, and it was accidental," Landrum said. "But we'll be doing an autopsy to get it on the record, especially since it was an industrial accident."
It was AEP's first fatality in the area since 1985, when a worker was killed in South Bend, Kratt said.
Two Portland bridges close after accidents
The upper deck of the Fremont Bridge reopened just after 8:30 Monday night after a 360-ton crane blocked traffic for several hours. A mechanical problem caused the crane to swing out over several lanes of traffic and smash a guardrail. The accident occurred shorty after 4 p.m.
UPDATE, Crane toppling may net a fine
OSHA looks into what preceded I-25 mishap
By M.E. Sprengelmeyer, News Staff Writer, April 5, 2002
Big crane accidents don't always mean big federal fines, according to the agency investigating Wednesday's incident on Interstate 25. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Thursday began looking into Absolute Crane Inc. Absolute's boom truck toppled into the northbound lanes of I-25 Wednesday night, damaging two cars and injuring three people. If OSHA inspectors find safety violations, the company could face maximum federal penalties of up to $7,000 for any deemed "serious" or up to $70,000 if they're deemed "willful." Absolute Crane has no past OSHA violations. But OSHA records show that penalties in similar cases have been far lower, even when crane accidents on highway projects caused deaths. In 1986 in Varina, Calif., a crane overturned while working on a highway bridge, trapping and killing the operator. OSHA found that it had been on unstable ground, so the agency issued a "serious" violation for $1,000. The penalty was later reduced to $500. In 1988 in Gaithersburg, Md., a crane operator was moving pieces of concrete when the boom swung and the crane tipped, ejecting the driver, who died. OSHA cited a lack of training and a "serious" violation resulting in $1,310 in penalties. On the other end of the spectrum, OSHA levied penalties totaling $539,800 against three companies in 2000 after a crane collapsed during construction of the Miller Park baseball stadium in Milwaukee, killing three workers. The difference was that the long list of violations was deemed "willful." John Healy, Englewood area director for OSHA, said fines are just one tool the agency uses to improve safety. OSHA sometimes reduces penalties if companies agree to make major safety upgrades, such as eliminating hazards or adding training. "Our mission is worker safety and health, and our mission is protection of workers," Healy said. "I think many times public safety can benefit from (companies) adhering to OSHA regulations." OSHA is just one of the agencies investigating the accident. Denver police are involved, as is T-REX, the agency that oversees the massive southeast Denver transportation improvements for the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Regional Transportation District. OSHA could take weeks or months to determine a cause after reviewing factors such as training, supervision an equipment. "We'd look at all aspects of how the crane is being used," said Herb Gibson, Denver area director for OSHA.
UPDATE, Company fined in rig accident
By Brent Lancaster, Times-News
A state Department of Labor investigation has found that improper operation of a drilling rig contributed to an accident along Interstate 85/40 in west Burlington in February that killed a Chapel Hill man. Coastal Caissons Corp. of Clearwater , Fla. , has been fined $2,800 after an investigation into an accident in which a drilling rig tipped over and dropped a metal pipe on a car on the interstate. The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found that a Coastal Caissons crew did not use the drilling rig properly, considering the wind conditions that day. OSHA also found Coastal Caissons did not provide an operator’s manual or have proper warnings posted on the drill. The improper use “was a contributing cause of the rig tipping over,” according to the OSHA finding. The Feb. 21 accident killed Steven Edward Whitesell, 37, of Chapel Hill . Whitesell was headed north through a work zone when the drilling rig tipped over and dropped a pipe, which weighed several thousand pounds, on his Toyota Camry. The Coastal Caissons crew was installing concrete forms as part of a N.C. Department of Transportation project that is building a new bridge and interchange at St. Mark’s Church Road . The crew was working in the median of the interstate behind concrete barriers. Coastal Caissons has since been fired by the main contractor on the bridge project, the Thompson-Arthur Division of APAC-Carolina Inc. Another subcontractor is being brought in to install the caissons using a different method. A representative of Coastal Caissons said Wednesday that his company had not gotten word of the OSHA finding. The company can pay the fine, possibly have it reduced after a mediation session with Labor Department officials, or challenge it before an OSHA review board. OSHA investigated only the accident and why it happened. The agency doesn’t have jurisdiction to investigate Whitesell’s death because he was not working on the job site. The N.C. Highway Patrol will not file charges in Whitesell’s death. The state Department of Transportation investigated how the work zone was set up and whether it contributed to the accident. The transportation department is building a new bridge and interstate interchange as part of a project that is realigning and widening St. Mark’s Church Road in west Burlington .
T-REX crane falls; 3 hurt
Northbound I-25 closed when equipment topples while working in median lifting concrete barriers
By Brian D. Crecente, M.E. Sprengelmeyer, Tillie Fong and Michael BeDan, News Staff Writers, April 4, 2002
A 100-foot-tall T-REX crane collapsed onto Interstate 25 in southeast Denver on Wednesday night, crushing two cars and injuring three people. A 54-year-old man, his 56-year-old wife and Sherry Shiffer, 45, were taken to Denver Health Medical Center , where they were all in fair condition late Wednesday, hospital officials said. The crane operator was not injured. Mike Krieger said his girlfriend, Shiffer, called him from the scene of the accident. She thought at first that a truck had rolled over onto her car, he said. "The air bag blew up and broke her nose," said Krieger, 47, who was at Denver Health Medical Center waiting for Shiffer. "It sounded pretty wild." He said Shiffer was driving to their home in Thornton after her evening classes. "She's fine," he said. However, her car, a Hyundai, is totaled. The incident happened about 9:15 p.m. when the crane, which was moving cement barriers from the median of I-25 near East Quincy Avenue, tipped over onto its left side, according to Karen Morales, spokeswoman for the contractor, Southeast Corridor Constructors. The crane's 100-foot boom lay across three of the four northbound lanes, crushing the hood of Shiffer's car and the roof of a white Pontiac Sunbird. Denver firefighters extricated the couple from the car with the crushed roof, but Shiffer was freed within minutes of the accident, Morales said. On the freeway, fire trucks and backhoes were working at the scene and another crane was brought in. Yellow construction lights flashed and giant white spotlights illuminated the area. The crushed cars were loaded onto a flatbed truck. It's not unusual for a crane, which can lift 38 tons, to be used to move cement barriers, Morales said. "The crane operator was doing routine work -- moving concrete barriers into a work area -- when this happened," she said. "We have no idea why it tipped over, but we are still investigating." The Colorado Department of Transportation and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration are also investigating the accident. Northbound lanes of I-25 were closed near the intersection of I-225, and at one point the backup extended south to County Line Road . Southbound traffic slowed to a crawl in two lanes. The tie-up occurred shortly before tens of thousands of fans left the Colorado Avalanche-Atlanta Thrashers game and a soccer match between the U.S. Men's national team and the Mexican national squad, adding to the usual I-25 traffic. Crews expected to reopen all lanes before the morning rush hour, said Steve Fitzgerald, a spokesman for CDOT. State officials said 230,000 vehicles a day use that section of highway. The crane was being used in the $1.7 billion T-REX project to widen I-25 and add light rail along a 19-mile corridor. Morales said this was the first injury-accident on the project.
Crane fall kills nurse
Apr 3 2002 , By Sarah Tyrrell, Evening Mail
A top Midland nurse was crushed to death under a crane when a dream holiday to South America ended in tragedy. Ann Milsted, 56, suffered fatal injuries when a truck hit the crane, bringing it down on top of her as she walked along a street in the Chilean capital of Santiago . Ann, a former nurse at Good Hope Hospital and Birmingham regional officer for the Royal College of Nursing, had been on holiday in a party of seven. Her friend Sheila Piper, who was also injured, is being treated in a hospital in Chile . Her condition is not known. Ann Leedham-Smith, West Midlands regional director for the RCN, today paid tribute to Ann, who lived in Sutton Coldfield. She said: "Ann was highly respected across Birmingham . Everyone in the health profession knew her. Her job with the RCN was to assist and negotiate on behalf of nurses during all the changes happening throughout Birmingham . She was heavily involved in the merger between the Sandwell and City hospitals and with Birmingham Children's Hospital. "Ann grew up in Jamaica , had lived in South Africa and worked in Saudi Arabia . She loved travel. She was very witty and enjoyed life to the full. "The really sad thing about it all is that she was looking forward to her retirement in three years' time - she was training to be a manicurist to keep her busy." Ann was not married and had no children. Her mother, Margot, lives in Ashford , Kent . She had worked as a chief nurse at Good Hope for four years before joining the RCN in 1996. She also served as a magistrate in Birmingham . Sir Bernard Zissman, Good Hope chairman, said: "This is a tragedy not just for Ann's family, but for the family of Good Hope. "Good Hope is one of those hospitals where there is a family atmosphere and the sympathy of us all, particularly the nursing staff, goes to her family. "When these things happen in far-off lands it is a double tragedy because there is always the question of people not knowing exactly what happened."Ann's body will be brought back from Chile in a few weeks' time following her death last week, and her funeral will be held in Ashford , Kent . The RCN is planning to hold a special memorial service for their colleague at Birmingham Cathedral in the summer.
5 Killed in Taiwan Temblor
Cranes and scaffolding at a high-rise office building site crashed to the ground, killing five construction workers, after a powerful earthquake jolted Taiwan yesterday. More than 200 mostly minor injuries were reported across the island as the quake started fires, shattered windows and cracked walls. Taiwanese officials said it registered magnitude 6.8, but the U.S. Geological Survey estimated it higher, at 7.1. Two cranes fell from the 60th floor of a building under construction in downtown Taipei . Television news footage showed the cranes tumbling from the top of the structure, bringing steel beams and chunks of concrete down with it. Police identified the victims as two crane operators and three other workers. About 10 people were hurt by falling debris, including a woman whose hand was severed when part of a crane came crashing down on her car. "I pulled over my car and ran for a few steps before I saw a falling steel beam smashing another car, right in front of me," taxi driver Wang Tien-tse told the TVBS television station. The building under construction — the Taipei Financial Center — will be Taipei 's tallest when completed, at more than 100 stories. Elsewhere in Taipei , buildings rocked, cracks appeared in walls and frightened people ran from homes and churches.
UPDATE, Florida contractor fired for fatal accident on Carolina project
Saturday, March 30, 2002, Associated Press
BURLINGTON, N.C. - A Florida contractor was fired from an interstate construction project after a pipe fell on a car, killing its driver. The main contractor on the overpass project, the Thompson-Arthur Division of APAC-Carolina Inc., fired Coastal Caissons Corp. of Clearwater, Fla. A Coastal Caissons crew was installing a caisson Feb. 21 on a median in the middle of Interstate 85/40 when a crane toppled over, dropping the huge pipe on a car. The driver, Steven Edward Whitesell, 37, of Chapel Hill, was killed. The state Highway Patrol will not file charges. The North Carolina Department of Transportation and the state Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration are stil investigating. The DOT investigation is looking at how the construction work zone was set up and OSHA, which investigates injuries to workers on job sites, is looking at what happened on the work site. Ivan Clayton, president of the main contractor, said McKinney Drilling Co., a Texas company with an office in Kernersville, would be on site Monday. Clayton said the new subcontractor would use a different method than Coastal Caissons, but he would not elaborate. A representative of Coastal Caissons reached Thursday would not comment. Whitesell was driving northbound through the work zone around 4:30 p.m. in a Toyota Camry on Feb. 21. The metal pipe, which weighed several thousand pounds, got too far in front of the crane and caused it to tip over.
Man Dies In Fall From Talleyrand Crane
A shipyard worker fell to his death from a crane at the Jacksonville Port Authority's Talleyrand dock Wednesday. The man fell from one of two large cranes that load and unload containerized freight at the Jaxport facility. His identity has not been released. "Those cranes are very big and spacious," JPA spokesman Robert Peek said. "There are gangplanks up there; there are rails up there; there is an elevator that takes you up. They are fairly sizeable pieces of machinery." As is customary, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office is investing the death.
Construction worker killed: Howe man, 27, dies in accident at site of new city hall
By: Cliff Despres, staff writer, March 18, 2002
A construction worker was killed Thursday after being crushed by a crane at the site of the new city hall. Brian Keith Cummings, 27, of Howe, Texas, reportedly got caught between a large drill bit and a counter weight on the back side of a crane at about 3 p.m., according to a city officials. Lewisville fire, police and paramedic units responded to the accident. Kenny Wilkins, division chief in investigations for the Lewisville Fire Department, said Cummings suffered "severe internal injuries." Cummings was transported via a CareFlite helicopter to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, where he underwent several hours of surgery. He was pronounced dead shortly at 8:43 p.m. Wilkins said crews were drilling holes at the construction site, 151 W. Church St., one block from Main Street, at the time of the accident. He said the crane that pinned Cummings down was under normal operation, and he was unsure what caused the accident. "I can't comment on that because I don't know," Wilkins said. Investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were scheduled to be on the site Friday to try and determine the cause of the accident. Cummings worked for N.L. Shuttle Drilling, a subcontractor for Capform, the city's foundation contractor for the new municipal building. Randy Sadler, one of Cummings' supervisors, said Cummings was a unique individual. "He was never not smiling," said Sadler, who was not on the scene when the accident occurred. "Everyone who knew him fell in love with him, and he was one of our hardest workers." All construction workers who work on the site were given the day off Friday. The new $9.69 million, 62,000-square-foot city hall will replace the city's existing facility at 1197 W. Main St. The Lewisville City Council approved $4.1 million in February to cover the cost of the first wave of construction, which includes an heating, ventilation, plumbing, air conditioning, electricity, foundation work, structural work, waterproofing and hydraulic elevator. Donna Huerta, communications manager for the city, said construction on the structure portion of the project hasn't begun yet. "The main portion of construction right now is the basement. They're digging the hole for it and putting the piers up for the foundation," she said. Huerta said the nearby Parks and Leisure Services building, which is being vacated April 1, will be torn down in mid April and the land will be assimilated into the city hall project. The new city hall is slated for completion in March 2003. Contact staff writer Cliff Despres at 972-538-2115, or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
UPDATE, OSHA and DOT are investigating crane accident
By Sean McCombs, Times-News
Interstate construction work on the new St. Mark’s Church interchange has been halted until investigations into a fatal accident there on Feb. 21 are complete. A crane dropped a multi-ton metal pipe on Chapel Hill attorney Steven Whitesell’s car as he drove in a northbound lane of Interstate 85/40, killing him. No charges will be filed in the accident. The North Carolina Department of Transportation, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the construction company are all doing separate investigations on the crane accident. "That’s a safe operation that they were doing," Department of Transportation engineer Mike Mills said. "We don’t know why the crane tipped over." Mills said the project, which is scheduled for completion in 2004, will be suspended until the investigations are completed. Workers were setting the metal caisson to pour concrete into it to form the center supports for the bridge. Mills said the construction company had already installed six or seven of the center supports. Mills said the DOT is reviewing the construction plans to make sure traffic on I-85/40 is safe. "Is what we have out there the best thing we can do for the traveling public?" Mills said. "Is there anything that could have been done different?" Mills said he thinks the barriers and the way traffic is narrowed to three lanes is a safe. He said projects exactly like this one are going on all over the country. OSHA is investigating the accident not because of Whitesell’s death, but because of worker safety concerns. "Anytime a crane tips over, it would be a concern," OSHA spokesman Greg Cook said. "We are concerned about employee exposure to accidents." Cook said OSHA’s investigation will take between four and six weeks. His office, like the DOT, is uncertain about why the crane tipped over. "We have not reached a conclusion at this time," Cook said. Mills said approximately 90,000 cars pass that construction site daily. He said he was surprised the accident involved only one car. Another fatal accident occurred in the southbound lanes at nearly the same spot in January. A man was looking under the hood of his car and was crushed when a tractor trailer struck his car from behind.
40 Tonne Crane Tips Over at VictoriaUniversityFootscray Campus
A Victoria University construction site suffered its second seriousworkplace safety incident in four months this morning when a 40 tonnecrane became unbalanced and tipped over. WorkSafe Executive Director, John Merritt said today’s incident was a lucky escape for those involved. “Fortunately the area had been isolated, only the crane crew were in the area and the driver was able to escape from the cabin unharmed,” he said. “Shortly after 9.00am, while lifting a heavy steel beam, the crane tipped over at a 45 degree angle and came to rest against the wall of the University gymnasium. “WorkSafe investigators are on site and two new cranes may be used to set the 40 tonne crane straight. This process in expected to take a number of hours, “WorkSafe’s investigations into both incidents will establish what safety procedures were in place to manage crane safety “It is of concern to WorkSafe that this site has had two serious crane safety incidents in such a short period, Mr Merritt said. Students have been evacuated from the gymnasium and surrounding buildings and all services have been cut off. The incident happened shortly after 9.00am at the gymnasium extension construction site. Media Contact: Jasmine Sussex T: 9641 1319 M: 0400 562 020
Plant worker killed in accident
By Peter Waguespack The Ascension Citizen
DONALDSONVILLE -- A Donaldsonville man was killed last Wednesday when the construction equipment he was working on fell from Triad Nitrogen's loading dock into the Mississippi River . The 14-ton cherry picker was being operated by Cleveland Medine Jr., 45, when the accident occurred.While changing out a valve and maneuvering it onto the loading dock, Medine, along with the cherry picker, fell off the dock, plummeting 30-40 feet into the river. Medine, who was an employee of Triad's sub-contractor, Payne and Keller/Jacobs Engineering, was rescued from the river by co-workers. He then was transported to Prevost Memorial Hospital by Acadian Ambulance. He was pronounced dead at 2:20 p.m. "There is currently an ongoing investigation of this matter," said Tom Torr, Triad's manager of administration. "There are no obvious reasons as to why he (Medine) fell into the Mississippi River ." Torr added that officials from Triad, Payne and Keller/Jacobs Engineering and OSHA are still trying to determine what happened. Medine is survived by his wife, Robbie Camp Medine, Donaldsonville; mother, Marie Millien Medine, Donaldsonville; a daughter, Jaima Medine, Houma; two sons, Shane Medine, Houma, and Timothy Medine, Belle River; three sisters, Julia Blanchard, Belle River, and Janice White and Judy Lear, both of Donaldsonville; and a brother, Johnny Medine, Donaldsonville.
UPDATE, Worker in fatal electrical accident identified Herald staff
LYNNWOOD -- The Snohomish County Medical Examiner on Wednesday identified a boom crane operator who died last week when the crane's cable struck a power line. William Lee Dunlap, 40, of Tacoma was unloading supplies from a delivery truck at a construction site in the 14000 block of 55th Avenue W. He died of high voltage electrocution in the accident, said Leon Reichle, the Snohomish County medical examiner's chief investigator. The state Department of Labor and Industries is investigating the accident.
Company fined $10,000 after man hit on head by crane
A Waikato company has been sentenced to pay $10,000 after a member of the public was hit on the head by a crane. The Occupational Safety and Health Service (OSH) prosecuted Smithbridge New Zealand Ltd after an incident last year. “The company were dismantling a bridge when the fly jib of the crane fell and its wire rope struck a man as he walked across the railway,” said Kevin Webby, OSH Service Manager, Waikato . The man sustained lacerations to his head, concussion and a broken collarbone. $8000 of the fine was awarded to the victim. The company pleaded guilty yesterday to breaches of the Health and Safety in Employment Act. "This prosecution has highlighted that workplace safety can involve people who are not actually working," said Mr Webby. "Health and safety in the workplace includes keeping yourself safe and ensuring the safety of others, even those in the vicinity of the immediate workplace. “One of the things the company should have done was construct a safety zone around the area. “No barriers or signage had been erected around the lifting area, vehicles were not stopped from travelling and pedestrians were not stopped from entering the area. "Employers must take a systematic approach to identifying workplace hazards and put systems in place to protect workers and others. These systems need to be constantly reviewed and updated." or further information: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., OSH Service Manager Waikato Tel 07 838 1381 Mobile 025 531 717 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Business Adviser-Public Relations, OSH , Wellington . Tel: 04 915 4390 Mobile : 025 463 538
UPDATE, Laborer denied $1 million suit claim
By Jess Sullivan
FAIRFIELD -- Two weeks of testimony ended Thursday with a civil jury turning down a laborer's $1 million claim for an injury he suffered at his Dixon workplace. Richard Statucki was a good employee for Basalite Concrete Products, a company that manufactures a variety of concrete blocks. Statucki's attorney began the trial by telling jurors what he believes happened to his client, a former employee of the year, shortly after starting his shift on the morning of June 14, 1999. Statucki was using an electric hoist maintained by Crane Pro Services Inc., a subsidiary of a multinational corporation that had more than $319 million in revenue during 2001 as the world's largest provider of crane and hoist maintenance services. While standing on a large metal table holding a control box, Statucki was maneuvering an overhead hoist holding a piece of machinery used for making large concrete blocks, according to his attorney. When the hoist didn't stop lowering the machinery, Statucki grabbed the cable for the control box with his left hand and saw a blue flash of light. Statucki was jolted from the table and thrown against a steel plate six to eight feet behind him, cracking some ribs, partially collapsing one lung and causing internal bleeding in some of his organs. During dozens of visits to doctors during the next two years, Statucki would be diagnosed as suffering from spinal injury and traumatic brain injury, his attorney told jurors. Statucki was a sad sight during the trial. Walking with a cane and wearing dark sunglasses for a vision problem, he often winced in pain, wheezed loudly and moved about with unsteady frailty throughout the trial. Jurors were also told of the $60,000 in medical bills Statucki incurred along with the $100,000 in lost wages since the accident. Jurors spent hours learning the intricacies of how hoists operate and how their myriad parts are maintained. They also heard extensive testimony about the damage electricity can do to the body when someone suffers from a severe shock. A claim by Statucki's attorney that alleged improper maintenance by Crane Pro amounted to negligence was rejected by jurors with an 11 to 1 vote after five hours of deliberation. A minimum of nine votes are needed to win a claim for damages in a civil trial. The question of any damages was therefore moot with a 20-month lawsuit adding up to zero compensation for Statucki. Jess Sullivan can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
UPDATE, Officials look into accident
By Sean McCombs, Times-News
A Chapel Hill man died on Interstate 85/40 Thursday afternoon when a construction crane toppled over crushing the man's car with a steel pipe.
Steven Edward Whitesell, of 108 Pinchot Lane, Chapel Hill, was driving in a northbound lane of I-85/40 at about 4:30 Thursday afternoon when the pipe fell on his Toyota Camry. The accident occurred 50 feet west of the St. Marks Church Road overpass. Construction workers were moving the pipe with a crane when the load got too far in front of the crane, the Highway Patrol said at the scene. The crane toppled over and crushed Whitesell's car. The drilling rig was moving a pipe, Trooper Robert Fuquay of the Highway Patrol said. It fell over on its side and dropped the pipe on the car. Rescue workers had to remove the pipe from the car and cut off the top of the car's roof to get at Whitesell. He was dead when the Highway Patrol arrived on the scene. The crane is part of a construction project near exit 141. The metal pipe was a caisson, which is used to pour concrete. Estimates of the weight of the pipe ranged from 6,000 to 10,000 pounds. The accident completely blocked the northbound lanes for at least two hours. The Highway Patrol re-routed traffic onto N.C. 70 at the Gibsonville exit and then back on to I-85/40 at the Huffman Mill Road exit. Coastal Caissons Corp., out of Florida was the company doing the construction work, Fuquay said. No charges are being filed against the company at this time, Fuquay said. Another fatal accident occurred in the southbound lanes at nearly the same spot in January. A man was looking under the hood of his car and was crushed when a tractor trailer hit him from behind.
One Dead In Interstate 40 Crash; Traffic Is Backed-Up On Interstate 40
ELON COLLEGE, N.C. -- Officials said Interstate 40/85 is shut down after a crane fell and hit a car. Authorities told WXII one person on the scene is dead and the crane is blocking the highway. This happened near the Elon College exit, which is exit 141. Officials said the big traffic problem is on the 40/85 northbound lanes or I-40 east toward Raleigh. Authorities said traffic is building up in the southbound lanes, too. Stay tuned to WXII NewsChannel 12 and The Piedmont Channel.com for more information on this developing story.
Two injured in industrial accident at Lowe's site
February 14, 2002, By Lance Martin, Herald Staff Writer
GARYSBURG - The first construction accident at the Lowe's warehouse project left two men injured Tuesday morning. Munsrail Baskerville, 25, of Norlina, sustained a fractured leg and 50-year-old Jesus Loera, of Stem, complained of general body pain, said Paul Nowell, commander of the Roanoke Valley Rescue Squad. The men were installing a 1,000-pound water valve when the accident occurred. The valve was secured to a backhoe and was being lowered into a 6-by-10 concrete meter vault when it broke loose from the equipment, Nowell said. The men are employees of H&G Rentals of Henderson. The valve struck Baskerville in the leg. Nowell said when rescue squad members arrived, Baskerville's leg was bleeding and appeared to be fractured. Before entering the vault, rescue workers used air monitors to check the safety of the atmosphere. "We made sure there was no toxic fumes. There was no electricity going to it. There was no danger to rescue squad members," Nowell said. Rescue workers entered the vault and bandaged Baskerville's leg. They lifted him out in a Stoke's basket and transported him to a waiting ambulance. He was taken to Halifax Regional Medical Center in Roanoke Rapids. Loera was carried on a long board and placed in another ambulance. He was also taken to HRMC. Baskerville was listed in good condition this morning and was scheduled to have surgery. Loera was treated and released. Nowell said the 10:48 a.m. accident was the first at the Lowe's construction site. Lowe's announced plans to build in Northampton County May 29 of last year after putting the finishing touches on an agreement for a $60 million distribution center. The distribution center, which may help bring a Lowe's retail center to the area, will ultimately create 600 to 800 jobs. Sixty percent must be filled with low to moderate income people. Construction on the warehouse continues and the wall structures are complete and the roof is nearing completion. Paving of the road leading to the center should begin in March. Lowe's plans to move into the old Gaston Middle School in the next 60 to 90 days. The company will use the school for temporary space for logistics and personnel operations.
Crane collapses in South Loop
By Saleema Syed, Matt Walberg and Sabrina Miller, Tribune staff reporters, Published January 31, 2002, 7:29 AM CST
Parts of a crane fell off a building under construction in the South Loop early today, dropping steel beams through the roof of a residential building next door and onto the roof of the building that the crane was helping build. The collapse produced noises of grating metal and sparks from electrical cables, but the falling metal caused no injuries, according to Fire Department officials. Some residents who left their apartments in the building that was struck were not allowed to return to their homes because of concerns about possible structural damage. Surrounding streets were blocked by police and other emergency vehicles. Luka Dekalaita, who lives on the 19th floor of 40 E. 9th St., was up late watching television when the crane fell. "All of a sudden I heard debris falling and cracking, and I saw the whole top of the crane coming down. It was very scary. It sounded just like an earthquake," said Dekelaita, who recently moved to Chicago from San Francisco. A piece of the crane was dangling outside his bedroom window when Dekelaita left his apartment for the lobby. "I don't want to go back there tonight. It looks like we'll be sleeping at the Hilton." Residents of nearby buildings said the crane was mounted at the side of a building under construction on the southwest corner of 8th Street and Wabash Avenue. They said the crane consisted of a vertical tower and a long horizontal arm that pivoted on the tower and that had been equipped to lift construction materials to the rooftop. It was the horizontal section, including a cab for the crane operator, that separated from the tower about 1 a.m. today, toppling downward, leaving the tower to sway temporarily at first and then stabilize, nearby residents said. Tom Kennedy, chief of the fire department's Battalion One, said the crane landed on an adjacent building at 40 E. 9th St., punching through a metal canopy covering a rooftop pool on the 21st floor. It then slid onto the separate roof over the 19th floor, before falling to the top of the building under construction, which has been built up to a height of about eight stories.
City building inspectors were investigating the cause of the collapse.
'Luckiest guy in the city' unhurt in freak accident
By Jon Ward, THE WASHINGTON TIMES
A steel beam fell 11 stories from a construction site in the District yesterday morning and crashed through the driver's side rear window of Jeff Pargament's car, leaving him shaken though he walked away from the scene without a scratch. "This guy is the luckiest guy in the city today," said D.C. Fire Department spokesman Alan Etter, adding that the 13-foot-long, 150-pound beam missed hitting Mr. Pargament's head by a few inches. Mr. Pargament, 44, of Potomac, said he was at 19th and H streets, on the way to his law office in Northwest at 9:50 a.m. when he heard yells on the street and felt something hit his car. "I assumed I had been hit by a car or truck. After the initial shock, I saw there was a beam sticking through the car," said Mr. Pargament, a married father of two. The steel beam crashed through the driver's side rear window of his Mercedes E 420, cutting through the seat and the floorboard. The steel beam was being lifted by a crane at street level up to the 11th story at the 1900 Pennsylvania Ave. NW site, where workers were supposed to take it from its cradle and secure it in place, said Mr. Etter. The beam slipped out of a worker's grip and plummeted toward the street, striking a piece of concrete before crashing into Mr. Pargament's car. A stunned woman in the car behind Mr. Pargament's called 911. A number of pedestrians and passers-by expressed concern and amazement that he was not injured, he said. Mr. Etter said emergency workers who responded to the scene found Mr. Pargament to be fine, except for elevated blood pressure. "I told my family that I was OK and that we were quite fortunate," said Mr. Pargament, who went to his office, then to a hospital to have doctors check him out as a precaution. "I'm a little sore and I'm not sure why that is," he said. Several hours after the near-tragedy, he said he was still in shock. "I'm pretty shook up," he said. Mr. Pargament said he had mixed emotions about the incident. While he was relieved and grateful to have been so lucky, he was also angry. "How could this have occurred? I want to make sure this does not happen again. This could have been a tragic situation for me or someone else." R. Harris Welding was held responsible for the incident, which Mr. Etter called a "freak accident." Robert Harris, owner of R. Harris Welding, said he was not at the site at the time of the accident and did not know exactly what happened. He said the steel beam was the last piece to be installed at the building. "Two-hundred pieces and the last piece fell off," he lamented. The workers involved were removed from the site immediately, he said, but would continue to work for R. Harris at other sites. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was called to the scene and investigate to prevent future accidents at other sites, said Mr. Etter. Mr. Pargament said he plans to follow up with OSHA, but has not yet considered legal action.
UPDATE, Lifting operation tragedy at bakery
A man undertaking maintenance work has died under bakery equipment after a lifting operation went tragically wrong. According to one account two men were moving a large industrial dough mixer when they both sustained injury. The survivor is being treated for head injuries. The accident occurred on Saturday at the Montana Bakery in Slough.
Lifting operations injury in North Sea
HSE is investigating an accident that occurred aboard the vessel Maersk Beater in which a crewman on the supply boat sustained crush injuries. One account available is that a container being lifted from the boat to a platform somehow crushed the man. He is described as comfortable in hospital.
Falling crane injures four in Osaka
OSAKA -- Four people were injured when a crane fell from a condominium construction site and hit a nearby public apartment complex and a truck Wednesday, police said. The accident occurred as the crane was lifting up a 1-ton steel plate. The operator of the crane, Mitsuharu Uryu, 53, suffered serious injuries in the chest and back. Slightly wounded were Norihiko Ashihara, 32, a resident of the apartment, and his 58-year-old mother, Yoshiko, as well as Shoichi Ozaki, 26, the driver of the truck. At around 11:40 a.m., a crane installed at a condominium construction site in the Daido district of Tennoji-ku, Osaka, fell down and hit an Osaka municipal apartment complex and then a truck running below. Police investigators who conducted an on-the-spot inspection found that one of the four props that supported the crane was leaning dangerously. Noting that a strong wind warning was out in the entire Osaka Prefecture at the time, investigators said they suspect that strong winds may have blown down the crane. Police are questioning officials connected with the construction site on suspicion of professional negligence resulting in injuries. Mitsui Construction Co. began construction of the condominium last October, and was scheduled to complete it in March 2003. A construction machine leasing company installed the crane at the site last Saturday. (Mainichi Shimbun, Jan. 23, 2002)
UPDATE,Teetering crane in Jersey City worse than engineers thought
Published in the Asbury Park Press
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JERSEY CITY -- It could take two weeks or more to dismantle and remove a damaged construction crane that has been teetering over a waterfront neighborhood, the city's mayor said Friday. But Mayor Glenn Cunningham said he was hopeful that nearly 1,000 residents who were evacuated would be allowed to return to their homes by Saturday night. An electrical malfunction Wednesday caused the crane to tilt forward, 18 stories above the street, forcing evacuation of a hotel and nearby homes. A team of engineers from the German company that built the crane arrived Thursday and examined it Friday morning. Work crews were welding U-shaped steel braces on all four sides of the damaged crane to try to secure it, Cunningham said. He said the plan is to try to twist the crane slightly so that its boom is over the building under construction and not over the street below, and then to begin dismantling it. Crews worked until 3 a.m. Friday and resumed work about 7 a.m., said Fire Chief Donald Windrem. "They're going full-bore, as fast as humanly possible," said Cunningham. The Double Tree Club Suites Hotel, which was evacuated immediately after Wednesday's incident, was allowed to reopen Thursday, and more than 100 displaced residents of the Avalon Cove luxury townhouse development were put up there. Ileana Malamud was one of the first to be removed from Avalon Cove Wednesday morning. Since then, she's stayed either with friends, or in the Double Tree. She had hoped to get back into her home Friday night, but was disappointed when told that her adventure could extend through the weekend. "It's hard because I have a baby, and I'm five months pregnant. I didn't get any of my maternity clothes. I just grabbed two diapers and got out. I had to buy everything all over again." Her 19-month-old son Eric has been behaving fairly well away from home. "Each morning he's waking up in a new bed," his mother said, "so he just starts jumping up and down on it, and he loves it. But this is getting tiring. There's only so many things you can do away from home." She was allowed back into her apartment briefly on Thursday, when she was able to grab some videos and a few toys for Eric. "It's not great, but after September 11th, we're lucky nothing happened to us. It could be a lot worse."
Crane accident on I-35 injures 3 workers, shuts down portion of highway
By MIKE ANDERSON Tribune-Herald staff writer
Three construction workers were injured when a crane fell from an Interstate 35 overpass in Lacy-Lakeview Wednesday morning. The accident happened about 8:45 a.m. at the Interstate 35 bridge over Crest Drive. At the time of the accident, workers were using a crane that was sitting on the northbound overpass to lift a second crane that had overturned during the night, said Ken Roberts, a spokesman with the Texas Department of Transportation. The overturned crane suddenly shifted into its upright position, jerking the crane that was lifting it over the side of the overpass, Roberts said. That crane landed upside down next to Crest Drive. Two men in a basket that was suspended above the interstate were thrown several feet to the ground when the crane fell, Roberts said. Danny Norris, 38, of Otilia, Okla. and Romaldo Moreno, 38, of Longview, Texas were taken to Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center with head injuries, Roberts said. They were both listed in critical condition late Wednesday, a hospital spokeswoman said. A third man who was inside or near the crane when it fell from the overpass, Roberts said. Ismael Flores, 28, of Hallsville, Texas was taken to Hillcrest, where he was listed in serious condition, Roberts said. A hospital spokeswoman said she did not have a record of Flores being admitted. The three are employees of Austin Bridge and Road, Inc., a Dallas-based subcontractor for the Texas Department of Transportation. The company was assisting Waco-based Young Brothers, Inc. Contractors in widening the bridge to accommodate an additional lane of traffic in each direction. The initial accident happened about 2 a.m., when the first crane, sitting at ground level, was lifting a 40-ton concrete beam to support the expansion, Roberts said. As the crane lifted the beam it tilted, and then its arm fell onto the northbound overpass, dropping the beam to the ground, Roberts said. Although southbound traffic had been diverted onto the access road, northbound interstate traffic was continuing at the time the crane fell, Roberts said. "There were two 18-wheelers approaching the bridge at the time," Roberts said. "They saw the crane moving in the direction of the northbound lanes, and they stopped before it fell." David Vance, a spokesman for Austin Bridge and Road, Inc., said he was not sure what caused the accident. He said the company's president had been to the site and was looking into the cause. Roberts said the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration would also investigate the accident. Mark Gacke, Young Brothers general manager, said the fall ruined the beam and a replacement will have to be brought to the site. This could delay the project by as much as a month if a new beam needs to be manufactured, he said. Roberts said the bridge suffered only superficial damage in the accident and is structurally sound. Traffic was rerouted and southbound I-35 remained closed throughout the day Wednesday. Northbound lanes of I-35 were reopened between 9:30 and 10 a.m. Mike Anderson can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at 757-5755.
Tilting crane forces evacuation of about 1,000 in Jersey City
Jersey City, New Jersey-AP -- Hundreds of people in an upscale New Jersey neighborhood could be out of their homes for several days, while a construction crane teeters dangerously overhead. The 470-foot crane is attached to the side of a building going up in Jersey City. Officials think an electrical malfunction yesterday caused the crane's boom to over-extend, and it began to tilt. Nearly 140 people were immediately evacuated from structures below. About a thousand residents in all were evacuated after crews stopped efforts to right the crane until engineers from the company that built it arrive today. Meantime, the Red Cross will provide residents with vouchers, good for hotel stays until they're allowed back in their homes.
Crane boom falls, hits state office
By MARLENE NAANES, Advocate staff writer
A mechanical failure in a crane working on a downtown parking garage Monday sent the machine's 130-foot boom plummeting to the ground and construction workers running. No one was injured, but many were shaken up after the crane's boom, or arm, hit the Department of Education Building across the street from a construction site at North and Fifth streets. Becky Keeling, who works in the computer department in the basement of the education building, said many people inside at the time of the accident ran out. "We felt it, and all of us came running outside," Keeling said. "We came out expecting a plane sticking out the side of the building." The falling boom scratched off part of the building that read "Department of Education" and hit a digging machine parked next to the crane. Keeling said the man working the digger went running. "He ran," she said. "He probably went home to put some clean clothes on." The crane, which lifts and moves steel pilings in the construction of the Galvez Parking Garage, was not in use at the time of the crash. Mechanics were working on it when the boom fell about 1 p.m., said Lercy Romero, foreman for Lafayette Steel Erectors. The company is trying to find out exactly what caused the failure. North was closed between Fifth and Sixth streets for several hours Monday afternoon.
Minibus crashes into a construction crane in Iran, 19 people killed
ASSOCIATED PRESS
TEHRAN, Iran, Jan. 5 - A minibus traveling along a road in Iran crashed into a construction crane, killing 19 people and injuring five, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported Saturday. The accident happened Friday night just north of the city of Damghan, 217 miles east of the capital, Tehran, the agency quoted police officer Qodratollah Javidpour as saying. Iran has one of the highest road accident rates in the world, with more than 200,000 accidents reported a year, resulting in about 15,000 deaths, IRNA said. Experts blame the high casualty toll on unsafe vehicles, disregard for regulations and insufficient emergency services.
UPDATE, Man Dies in Crane Accident; He is killed when the crane's 1,500-pound steel extension falls.
Thursday, January 3, 2002, By JOHN CHAMBLISS, The Ledger
LAKELAND -- A Lakeland man helping a friend at a construction site at Grasslands Golf & Country Club on Wednesday was killed when a crane extension fell on him, Lakeland police said. Harry Weaver, 55, of 3614 Imperial Lane, was killed instantly when the 15-foot 1,500-pound steel extension fell, said Officer Tim Snyder. "We were folding the crane up and finishing the job," said crane operator Kenneth McCollum. "I heard it (the extension) come loose when I moved the crane and I hollered to him." But McCollum said he yelled too late, and Weaver, McCollum's friend and fellow worker of 20 years, could not escape the falling crane extension. "This is the freakiest accident I've seen in my 20 years on the job," McCollum said. Officials from the Occupational Health and Safety Administration will determine whether proper regulations were followed by workers and what caused the extension, known as a jib, to fall. The jib was about 8 feet off the ground when it fell, said Rusty Parsons, manager for Crane & Rigging of Florida. McCollum works for Crane & Rigging. Weaver visited him and offered to help him finish laying floor beams to a house being built at 3121 Winged Foot Drive. "He saw a friend in need and he was just helping him," Parsons said. "He's been best friends with the owner for 15 years." In addition to working construction around Lakeland, Weaver was a truck driver and owned an injection molding plant in Lakeland. Weaver is survived by his wife, Ruth, and one son, James, 26, who is an Air Force pilot stationed in Turkey.
UPDATE, Contractor contests Miller Park workers' status
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MILWAUKEE -- The general contractor on the Miller Park stadium project has filed a court action seeking a hearing on the employment status of the three ironworkers killed during construction, a move that could reduce the $99 million verdict the company would have to pay. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries filed the action Friday in Milwaukee County Circuit Court, asking Judge Dennis Moroney to order the state Department of Workforce Development to hold a hearing on whether the three ironworkers should have been considered employees of Mitsubishi at the time of the accident. Employees and their families generally can collect worker's compensation benefits but cannot sue employers over workplace injuries. A Milwaukee County Circuit Court jury awarded more than $99 million to the widows of three ironworkers on Dec. 1, 2000. They were killed July 14, 1999, when the Big Blue crane crashed during construction of Miller Park. The jury decided that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of America, the general contractor on the stadium project, should pay 97 percent of the verdict.
Man visiting construction site killed by falling crane
The Associated Press
LAKELAND, Fla. - A crane at a residential construction site snapped off its boom and fell on the crane operator's 55-year-old friend, killing him, officials said. The victim, Harry Weaver, had driven the crane operator to the job site in a residential golfing community in south Lakeland Wednesday, said Rusty Parsons, an employee of Crane & Rigging of Florida, also known as Tru-Fab Inc. Weaver was "his best friend, really," Parsons said. "It's a tough time here." Police could not confirm the crane operator's name. Weaver did not work for the construction company, police said. "It certainly sounds like a case of an individual that was possibly somewhere where he shouldn't have been," said Chris Smith, a Pinellas Park construction safety consultant and owner of Crane Certifications. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating. Information from: Tampa Tribune
Investigation into motorway electrocution Investigation continues into the death of Greg Cousins, 20, who died before Christmas on an M1 slip road near Dunmurry, Belfast, after a crane contacted overhead power cables. Mr Cousins was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.
Accident Sends Worker Flying 80 Feet
By KPIX - Joe Belden
Three people are lucky to be alive after a dramatic accident in San Francisco's Union Square. Friday morning, a taxicab slammed into a cherry picker, sending the worker inside the basket flying 80 feet through the air. The lifting arm of the cherry picker crashed down on the cab, pinning the driver and his passenger inside. Amazingly, no one was seriously hurt. But all three were taken to San Francisco General for treatment of moderate injuries. For more Bay Area news and information, visit the PIX Page at kpix.com.
Falling Crane Kills 5, Injures 91 in Chinese School
By REUTERS, Filed at 4:51 a.m. ET
BEIJING (Reuters) - A huge construction crane toppled onto a school building in western China, killing five people and injuring more than 90 students as it sliced through the structure, officials and state media said Wednesday. ``Four students aged under 12 and the operator of the crane were killed,'' a city official from Tianshui city in the western province of Gansu told Reuters by telephone. Nineteen students from the Tianshui school remained in hospital, including three in critical condition, he said. The Lanzhou Morning News said some 91 students were injured in the accident, which occurred Monday while children were in their afternoon lessons. The crane was in use at a nearby construction site when it toppled over onto the school building and ``tore through the three-storey building from roof to bottom,'' the newspaper said. The cause of the accident was still under investigation but the official said a mechanical fault in the crane might be to blame, the official said. Dozens of frightened parents waited anxiously at two local hospitals while their children received treatment Wednesday. ``My son's wounds are not severe but he obviously suffered severe mental trauma. He is scared of going to school,'' Zhao Jinji, father of one 10-year-old victim, told Reuters. The accident offered another reminder of China's poor safety standards. In July, the collapse of a gigantic gantry crane onto a Shanghai shipyard killed 36 people and prompted a broad investigation of the use of heavy machinery in the city. In March, an explosion at an elementary school in Jiangxi province killed 43 people, most of them children, prompting Premier Zhu Rongji to apologize to the nation and pledge to raise safety standards. Authorities blamed that blast on a deranged bomber and denied allegations from local residents that the children were making fireworks in the school when the explosion occurred. State media have said more than 40 school children die every day in China from ``unnatural causes.''
Accident at Toyota kills man Sunday
By CHAS HARTMAN, 12/26/01
A Toyota subcontractor died after a crane tipped over Sunday morning at the company's Georgetown plant, officials said. James R. Cline, 47, of Mt. Sterling, was working in the plant's stamping shop at 1:50 a.m. Sunday when the accident occurred, said Rick Hesterberg, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky spokesperson. A mobile-type crane being operated by Cline tipped over, resulting in a fatal injury, Hesterberg said. The accident remains under investigation, Hesterberg said. TMMK is in its winter shutdown period, and subcontractors like Cline are performing work in the plant that couldn't normally occur during regular operating hours, Hesterberg said. Cline worked for a company called Atlas out of Columbus, Ohio, Hesterberg said, and was not a TMMK employee. Our sincerest sympathy goes out to his family, Hesterberg said. It's a very difficult situation especially at this time of the year.
ALCOA worker seriously injured
2001-12-25
Gary L. Harris Jr., an employee in the anode department of ALCOA Inc.'s Blount County smelting plant, was listed in serious condition at University of Tennessee Medical Center Monday after an on-the-job accident. ALCOA spokesperson Mike Infante said Harris was operating a crane Sunday when the machine's jaws became lodged open. Harris was trying to determine why the jaws were stuck when they closed on his arm, Infante said. The Alcoa Fire Department responded and opened the jaws, freeing the man, he said. Harris was taken to Blount Memorial Hospital, then the University of Tennessee Medical Center where he underwent surgery. Infante said Harris would not lose his arm and, as of Monday morning, was ``getting pulses back to all areas of his arm.'' ALCOA Inc.'s internal safety department is investigating the incident.
Crane Working on Unit 5 Topples
Thursday, December 20, 2001, By RICK ROUSOS, The Ledger
LAKELAND -- A big industrial crane working on Lakeland Electric's Unit 5 generator Wednesday morning went out of control and toppled. Officials at the site said nobody was injured. No major damage was caused when the crane, operated by a worker from S & B Engineers and Constructors, tipped over about 7:15 a.m. The crane, which is capable of lifting 100 tons, crashed into a steel pipe support and a metal hand rail. If the crane had to crash at the site, officials said, it crashed in just the right place. The falling crane missed the nearby generator, a steam line, a nitrogen line and a control building filled with computers and monitors. "It could have been way, way worse," said Bob Greever, a retired city employee working at the site as a consulting supervisor. "A few feet either way . . ." Unit 5, the city utility's natural gas fired generator, had repeated troubles and outages after it was supposed to start working in April 1999, but it worked well in the months before being taken down in September for additional construction. Unit 5 was taken down Sept 15 for construction that will boost its power-generating capacity from 260 to 375 megawatts. It was supposed to be fired up for a test Thursday, but the crane mishap will delay that probably until Monday. The generator is scheduled to work full-blast, with any troubles ironed out, by March 1. A crane capable of moving the crashed crane was being hauled from Orlando to Lakeland late Wednesday.
Crane Fall Causes Fuel Leak
Web Producer: Tracey Christensen, Reported by: 11Alive Staff, Last Modified: 12/17/01 2:21:25 PM
A crane being used to hoist air conditioning units onto the top of a newly-constructed building in Atlanta tipped over and rammed the structure Monday morning. While no injuries were reported, the sideways crane spilled diesel fuel, forcing a rush of fire crews to the scene to monitor the leakage. The 11 a.m. accident happened at the site where a new Publix grocery store is being built at James P. Brawley and Martin Luther King Drive. Officials have already determined that the crane fell because it was not properly secured.
Teenage electrocuted near Belfast
online.ie 16 Dec 2001
A man has been killed in an accident near Belfast last night. The victim, in his late teens, was electrocuted after a crane struck an overhead cable. Ambulances were sent to the scene on the M1 motorway at Dunmurry but failed to revive the man and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Only minor injuries after crane drops roof on home
By GEOFF CUNNINGHAM Jr., Staff Writer
FRANKLIN - Although injuries turned out to be minor, rescue workers had a scare on Tuesday when a crane strap broke sending the entire roof of a modular home crashing down on the unfinished structure. According to Franklin Fire Chief Scott Clarenbach, his crews were called to 228 Chance Pond Road about 1:30 p.m. on a report of a building collapse with entrapment. The incident occurred at a construction site where workers from Shawn Smith General Contractors of Maine were erecting a modular home. Chief Clarenbach said the trouble happened when the strap on a good-sized crane broke, dropping the modular home's roof. According to the chief, the roof stuck a worker on the way down, but did not pin or trap the individual. The chief added that while the roof was damaged, the rest of the home was intact and did not collapse. The victim, whose name is not being released, was taken to Franklin Regional Hospital with what were said to be minor head and shoulder injuries. The chief said the crane strap broke as operators attempted to set the roof on the structure. While the roof did land on top of the building, the snapping of the strap caused the load to rotate and land out of place, striking the worker. Chief Clarenbach said that the fire department has notified both the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the state Fire Marshal's Office regarding the incident.
Interstate reopens following crash, spill
The Associated Press, 12/8/01 4:24 PM
LAPLACE, La. (AP) -- Both westbound lanes of Interstate 10 reopened west of here Saturday after workers righted a huge crane truck that overturned, spilling about 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel and hydraulic fluid, Louisiana State Police said. The crane's driver, William D. Lauga sustained knee and internal injuries Friday morning when his crane overturned onto its roof as Lauga was trying to pass a tractor-trailer which had stopped on the highway's right shoulder, state police said.Lauga was hospitalized at River Parishes Hospital soon after the 11 a.m. accident. State police said he would be ticketed for careless operation of his vehicle.The crane truck, owned by B&G Cranes of Metairie, blocked both I-10 westbound lanes, part of the highway's median and its shoulder, state police said.
Family gets $1.9 million after suing for crane accident
By LISA BOSE McDERMOTT of the Gazette Staff
A federal civil lawsuit settled out of court for $1.9 million. A Monroe, La., family sued Luckett Crane Service and its owner, Harold Luckett of Commerce, in federal court in Texarkana, Texas, for an on-the-job accident. Andrew Bradford King was a Fluor Daniel Corp. employee at Lamar Power Plant in Paris, Texas. A Luckett crane and operator were also at the plant on Jan. 22, 2000, when the accident occurred. The Kings alleged that the crane operator did not check to see that the load he was lifting was properly stabilized. In the course of minutes, the crane's intake was lifted and swung to where King was working. Before King could escape, his right leg was trapped between a pipe and the intake. The bones of his lower right leg were crushed and his leg was nearly torn off. It was later amputated by doctors at a Paris hospital. The Kings argue the crane operator was not safe, properly trained and failed to follow warnings and perform a safe test. The case, according to Brady Paddock, settled just before a jury was selected. Settlements are not typically appealed.
UPDATE, Crane operator fined S$8,000 for violating safety practices
by Chia Hui Kheng
A crane operator has been fined S$8,000 for carrying out a lifting operation that violated safety practices, and which resulted in the death of a construction worker. Investigations showed that Chong Kee Ling was operating the crane in an unsafe manner and had overloaded it when the accident occurred while working on a semi-detached house in February this year. As a result, the crane carrying buckets of cement mix tilted forward and hit a worker, who fell some three metres to the ground and died on the spot. The Manpower Ministry says Chong's registration as a crane operator has been revoked following his conviction in court. And it reminded all crane operators to follow mandatory safety requirements. The Ministry says it will take legal action against anyone who carries out unsafe crane operations that endanger the lives of others.
Crane Collapses Near St. Paul School
Students Taken To Nearby School
Posted: 12:13 p.m. CST November 13, 2001
ST. PAUL -- Students and staff members at a St. Paul school had a hectic morning after a crane collapsed at a nearby construction site. The large crane (pictured, left) tipped as crews were completing a construction project near East St. Paul Lutheran School. The crane, which was mounted on a truck, hit a power line and punctured a propane tank. The arm of the crane struck the ground, tilting the truck onto one wheel. School staff members and students were taken to a nearby school. No injuries were reported.
Student killed on first day at docks
Employer and manager deny charges of manslaughter
Paul Kelso, Thursday November 8, 2001
A student decapitated by the jaws of a crane excavator two hours after starting work at a dockyard was the victim of gross and criminal negligence on the part of his employer, the Old Bailey heard yesterday. Simon Jones, 24, was killed in May 1998 on his first day's employment as a stevedore at Shoreham harbour, West Sussex. The jaws of a clam-shaped grab, used for moving large quantities of slag and aggregate, accidentally closed over his head and neck fracturing his skull and severing his head. He died within seconds. Shipping company Euromin Ltd and Richard Martell, the general manager of Euromin's Shoreham base, deny charges of manslaughter. Euromin denies a further three charges of health and safety regulations in connection with Mr Jones's death. Patrick O'Connor, opening the case for the prosecution, said Mr Jones had been sent to work for one day as a casual labourer at Shoreham harbour by employment agency Personnel Selection. He arrived for work at 8am, and was told to assist in the unloading of bags of stones and loose aggregate from the hold of the Cambrook, a Polish cargo ship that had docked that morning. Mr Jones was given no instruction by anyone in a position of responsibility, and was issued with no safety equipment. The court heard his job was to attach the bags of stones to chains hanging from the underside of the clam-shaped grab, which was open. He was killed when the lever that operated the jaws of the grab got caught in the clothing of the crane operator, Jim Harris, causing the jaws to close. Mr O'Connor said Mr Harris could not see inside the hold. "Simon Jones was placed beneath and at times between the jaws of that grab," Mr O'Connor said. "He was placed in danger of his life because the grab weighs over two tonnes and closes silently and quickly in about two seconds. "At about 10.15am Simon Jones was killed when the jaws closed suddenly, crushing his head. He died of massive fractures to the skull." The court heard the accident happened so fast that Sean Currey, who was working alongside Mr Jones, was not aware of it until he heard a noise. Mr O'Connor said that although Mr Martell was not present on the morning that Mr Jones was killed he was in sole charge of safety at the site, and had devised the system which led to the death. He said Martell's actions had shown a wilful disregard for danger to human life. The role of Mr Harris, who had since died, was "inadvertent and accidental," Mr O'Connor said. The court heard that operating instructions posted inside the cab of the excavator crane were ignored by Euromin in ordering Mr Jones into the hold below the clam-shaped grab. The instructions made it clear that no one should be in the grab's area of operation during its use. The court heard that there was no need for the clam-shaped grab to be used at all, as Euromin had a hook attachment on site that could have been used, allowing the bagged stones to be removed with ease. Ten weeks before the accident Mr Martell ordered staff to weld hooks to the inside of the clam-shaped grab, so that instead of stopping work to change the excavator attachment, the hooks could be used with the jaws of the grab open. There were other factors that contributed to Mr Jones's death. The "hatchman" responsible for communications between the crane operator and the hold was a Polish seaman, rather than an experienced hatchman. Mr O'Connor said that Mr Martell's management of the Euromin site meant he was culpable in the death of Mr Jones. The trial continues.
Damaged Ohio 29 bridge to remain closed until late December
November 3, 2001 - Ohio Department of Transportation representatives met Thursday to discuss the repairs of the bridge on Ohio 29 over Interstate 75 damaged earlier this week when a truck hauling a crane struck the bridge, which will remain closed for several weeks. Dave Fisher, ODOT County Manager, said a contract had been agreed upon, and work will begin next week on the repair work. As expected, two beams will have to be removed and replaced. The work is scheduled to be complete sometime before the end of December. The bridge will remain closed until then. ODOT spokeswoman Rhonda Higgins, reported that Eagle Bridge of Sidney was awarded the contract. The repairs are expected to cost in the neighborhood of $200,000. She could not say yet where the liability and subsequent responsibility for payment for the repairs would fall. The detour for Ohio 29 is to take Interstate 75 to either the County Road 25A or Ohio 47 exits and get back on the route.
50-ton traffic stopper
By James Fuller Daily Herald Staff Writer
A gust of wind toppled a 50-ton hydraulic crane onto the northern end of Route 53 early Thursday morning, closing all three southbound lanes and leaving traffic a mess. In an instant, the expressway became a parking lot. And, as minutes and hours went by, traffic ground to a halt not just on Route 53 but on streets and roads that feed the expressway. Palatine Police Commander Alan Stoeckel said the accident happened around 4 a.m. Stoeckel said Palatine assisted until Illinois State Police personnel arrived on the scene around 6:30 a.m. Illinois State Police Sgt. Bill Burge said all lanes were finally opened at 6:10 p.m. The delays stretched far beyond the accident site - into DuPage County, along I-90, and on side roads throughout the North and Northwest suburbs. They tied up traffic far into the afternoon. John Bianchi said he was traveling from Long Grove to his job as a Rolling Meadows police dispatcher at 4:30 p.m. Normally the trip would have taken him 15 minutes. "It took me probably an hour to get here," Bianchi said. "It was pretty bad. Lake-Cook was just stopped." Buffalo Grove Police Corp. Rich Hyland said congestion was created along Dundee Road and Rand Road, due to traffic being diverted. "There were more cars trying to enter 53 through the Dundee entrance," Hyland said. Stoeckel said Palatine police received a lot of phone calls from angry motorists, particularly during the middle of the day. "Tempers were getting a little heated because people had to stay in traffic a little longer," Stoeckel said. "We were trying to inform them that it was the state police's jurisdiction." It all started as workers were maneuvering the over-the-road Dundee Road exit sign at the Route 53 and Lake-Cook Road interchange to switch it from a steel support frame to an aluminum frame, officials said. A wind gust grabbed the exit sign just as it was being moved. The sudden shift of the sign caused the crane, owned and operated by Crane & Steel Inc., of Addison, to be flung backward, officials said. The crane teetered and the workers bolted just as the steel support beam crashed to the ground, officials said. Nobody was hurt, but a steel erector beam sliced through a 25-foot-high wooden retaining wall along the highway and crashed onto a steel roadside barrier. Diesel fuel and hydraulic fluid spilled onto the road. The Palatine Fire Department arrived and draped the spilled chemicals with sand. The entrance to Route 53 from Lake-Cook Road was closed, and traffic was diverted to the Dundee Road entrance. No official finding on the cause of the accident was released Thursday, but fire officials and representatives from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration all pointed to powerful winds as the likely culprit. "Nothing was done wrong," said Diane Kinser, president of Crane & Steel Inc. "It was definitely the wind. One minute it was there, the next it wasn't." "It's like driving your car on a windy day," Kinser said. "If you're trying to put something one place and the wind's trying to put it in another, it can be difficult." Crews decided it would be no use trying to right the crane because it was too heavy, so they decided to dismantle it and remove it in pieces, an Illinois Department of Transportation spokesman said. Blow torches were used to slice up the crane's extension arm and another crane was brought in to set the cabin compartment back on its wheels as continuous gusts of wind hindered the cleanup, officials said. Diane Turek, area director at OSHA's Des Plaines office, said little is known about the accident so far, but citations will be issued if any safety violations are uncovered. Crane & Steel, Inc. does not have any significant history of safety violations, Turek said. "They haven't been a major thorn in our side, but they'll get to know us now," she said. OSHA recently launched a special initiative in the Chicago area to assure safe crane operations. The most recent data from Illinois and the U.S. Bureau of Labor show Illinois had 50 crane accidents involving worker injuries, including a fatality in 1999. That, combined with several Loop-area crane incidents in recent months sparked the safety initiative, officials said. Daily Herald staff writer Steve Zalusky contributed to this report.
Crane topples over at Rock Prairie construction site
A truck crane toppled backwards while being used at a shopping center construction site near the intersection of Rock Prairie Road and Longmire Drive in College Station on Wednesday. No injuries were reported in the accident and the owner of the crane could not be reached for comment.
Accident snarls I-65 traffic
Oct 10, 2001
LACON — A Rogersville man was injured Tuesday when he reportedly lost control of the huge 180-ton crane he was driving northbound on I-65 down Lacon Mountain, struck a guardrail and flipped upside down in the median, snarling southbound interstate traffic for more than five hours. David W. Roach, 35, was airlifted by Medflight helicopter to Huntsville Hospital where he was listed in stable condition. According to a report by State Trooper Kenny Waldrop, the 12:50 p.m. accident started in Cullman County and ended up in the southern edge of Morgan County, about three miles south of Falkville. Trooper Waldrop said Roach, a driver for the Barnhart Crane Co. in Rogersville, said he was northbound on I-65 and was travelling downhill on Lacon Mountain at a speed of between 50 and 52 miles per hour when his right front tire dropped off the edge of the pavement, sending his rig into the right side guardrail. According to the driver, he attempted to correct his vehicle and guide it back onto the interstate, but instead over-corrected and drove through both northbound lanes before coming to rest upside down in the median. Troopers estimated that the rig traveled a distance of close to a quarter of a mile from the point of the initial impact to the point where the huge machine finally came to rest near the 318 mile marker. No other vehicles were involved, troopers said. The northbound lanes of I-65 remained open, but the southbound lanes between mile markers 318 and 310 (Alabama Highway 157 exit) were closed to through traffic until around 6:15 p.m. while wrecker and crane crews worked to upright the massive crane. “They tried for the longest to lift the crane using three huge wreckers, but all they succeeded in doing was gouging some holes in the interstate where the wreckers dug in an attempt to lift the crane,” said State Trooper Stan Livingston. “They finally had to call in a second crane to help flip the crane back onto its wheels.” Once the crane could be moved, workmen with the Alabama Department of Transportation began patching holes created by the wreckers and crane. The southbound lanes were then reopened to through traffic at about 6:15 p.m. For 5 1/2 hours southbound traffic on I-65 was detoured to U.S. Highway 31 through Vinemont and Cullman. At one point, the two lanes of traffic on the highway were backed up past Hurricane Creek Park. Members of Falkville Rescue & Fire and Vinemont/Providence Volunteer Fire Department assisted with traffic control at the scene. Meanwhile, a Cullman teenager critically injured in a two-vehicle accident Monday was upgraded to serious condition in the intensive care unit at UAB Hospital in Birmingham. Erica Gibbs, 16, was injured when the 1998 Mazda 626 she was driving collided with a 2000 Chevrolet Suburban driven by Cynthia Hogue, 32, of Vinemont at the intersection of Brantley Ave. Northwest and Second Avenue around 1:24 p.m. Monday. Her brother, Emory C. Gibbs IV, 15, was also injured, but was later treated and released from Cullman Regional Medical Center. According to investigating Cullman Police Officer Jeff Warnke, witnesses indicated that the Gibbs vehicle was travelling west on Brantley Avenue and was attempting to cross Highway 31 when it apparently pulled into the path of the Hogue vehicle, which was travelling northbound in the inside lane of U.S. 31. The Hogue vehicle reportedly struck the Gibbs car in the driver’s side door, trapping Erica inside for a time. She was airlifted from the scene to the UAB Trauma Center. There were no injuries in the Hogue vehicle.
Crane near World Trade Centre topples over
A WORKER managed to scramble to safety after the crane he was operating toppled over at a construction site next to the World Trade Centre yesterday morning. A site supervisor said that the operator was warming up the crane, which was not fully extended, when it began to fall. Workers said the site was mostly deserted when the accident occurred at 8.30 am. 'The crane was tipping over slowly and then it crashed to the ground with a bang,' said Mr Yeo Poh Beng, 58, a boatman at the Singapore Port Institute. 'Luckily, it was still early, so there weren't a lot of people about - the crane operator seemed pretty shaken though.' No one was hurt, although the toppled crane blocked part of the road near the Cable Car Towers. The company responsible for the crane, Samsung Construction, said the accident was due to human error.
Man electrocuted in crane accident From AAP, October 10, 2001
A MAN is in hospital in a serious condition after receiving an electric shock from high tension powerlines while operating a crane in Melbourne's west. The 50-year-old man was in the crane at the Victoria University of Technology, on the corner of Geelong and Ballarat roads in Footscray, when the crane hit the overhead powerlines about 9.20am (AEST). A Metropolitan Ambulance Service spokesman said the man was hit by 100,000 volts of electricity and suffered entry and exit wounds. He said the man was taken by MICA (mobile intensive care) ambulance to Western Hospital in a serious condition. The spokesman said the man was conscious and talking to paramedics.
Man, 41, in good condition after crane runs him over
Wednesday, October 10, 2001
Recent rains are the likely reason a 41-year-old construction worker was able to get up this morning after he was run over by a boom crane outside the Kinder Morgan energy plant, 2219 Chapin St. Brick Whitehead of Sand Creek didn't see the crane before it backed over him, Jackson Police Deputy Chief Matt Heins said. The boom crane operator said he did not see Whitehead, Heins said. The soft, muddy ground cushioned the impact and pushed him into the ground, Heins said. Whitehead was able to get up and walk away. The imprint of his body was visible in the mud as rescue workers arrived around 7:30 a.m., Heins said. Whitehead was taken to Doctors Hospital by ambulance to be examined because he had no visible injuries, Heins said. Whitehead could not be reached, but he was listed as in good condition this morning at Doctors Hospital. The former Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. site is undergoing $250 million worth of construction. Kinder Morgan officials hope to complete the project by the summer of 2002 and said when complete, the 550-megawatt plant could supply up to one-third of Michigan's current energy shortfall.
Wayward crane knocks out power to some
Tuesday, October 9, 2001, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF
Power to 5,900 Seattle customers was knocked out for about two hours yesterday after a crane struck some overhead power lines.The accident happened about 4 p.m. near Eighth Avenue North and Roy Street, Seattle City Light spokesman Larry Vogel said. The crane operator was not hurt in the accident. Homes and businesses in the Magnolia and Queen Anne neighborhoods were affected, he said. Power was restored shortly after 6 p.m."We were very lucky the damage was minimal," Vogel said.
Crane Operator Rescued From Perch
A crane operator who had complained of feeling faint at his perch about 150 feet in the air, had to be lowered to safety Friday at Greenville Memorial Hospital. Several rescuers climbed the crane to secure the crane operator to a rescue basket, which they then lowered to the ground.The crane is in place as part of the construction of a new patient wing at the hospital on Grove Road in Greenville. The operator was taken to emergency room and released from the hospital this afternoon.
Two trapped, two missing after silo collapse
CARSON, California (CNN) -- A wastewater treatment cylinder collapsed at a construction site Thursday, trapping several workers. Six were rescued with fractures or minor injuries, but two or three were still missing. The workers were in construction cranes or on scaffolding 100 feet above ground that fell when the concrete cylinder to be used for wastewater treatment collapsed, officials said. The missing workers could be buried under wood, cement or other debris, they said. Urban search and rescue teams were trying to find them. The rescued workers suffered fractures and sprains and were taken to Harbor-UCLA Hospital in Los Angeles, about 15 miles to the north. The accident happened at 8:15 a.m. (11:15 a.m. EDT)
Worker links crane strap, sculpture damage
A crane operator, criticized after part of The River Speaks was dropped onto Second Street, says he was overruled when he recommended a metal strap be used to hoist the artwork.
By Jason Brudereck, Eagle/Times
William M. Layton a crane operator for 36 years said it is not his fault that a 31/2-ton section of a sculpture crashed onto Second Street after a strap securing it to a crane snapped. Layton offered to use a metal strap to secure the sculpture to the crane, but the sculpture's manufacturer instead chose a fabric strap, he said. I said, 'If there are any sharp edges, they could possibly cut the strap,' Layton said. Representatives from A.R.T. Research Enterprises, the Lancaster firm that constructed the sculpture and is conducting the installation, told Layton that their choice for the strap was fine, he said. Obviously, there was a sharp edge up there that cut that strap, Layton said. On Thursday, half of a 40-foot-tall outdoor sculpture called The River Speaks was accidentally cut loose from the crane as the twisting, stainless steel sculpture was being lifted into place at Second and Penn streets in front of the Gateway Building. The $189,400 sculpture hit the ground and toppled over into a lane that was not closed to traffic, but no one was injured. The sculpture's mirrored finish was tarnished and dented by the fall. The joint used to attach the bottom and lower halves of the sculpture was damaged. Repairs were made and the top half was attached Thursday after Layton was replaced by another man at the insistence of representatives from A.R.T., who said installation might not be finished until later this week. It may take longer to replace several of the sculpture's tarnished and dented steel plates. Donald Dickinson, Layton's boss and owner of Dickinson Crane Service, Bern Township, said he was not at the site Thursday and could not confirm Layton's account. He added that the matter will be handled by insurance companies. A.R.T. officials did not return calls seeking comment. William S. Kirkpatrick, chairman of the Reading Fine Arts Board, arrived at the scene Thursday just as the accident happened. He had said he was told the strap securing the sculpture was old and worn out, and that Layton was impatient, perhaps moving the sculpture too quickly. Layton disputed that and claimed the strap was new and that he is an expert crane operator. Numerous completion dates for the project were set and missed over the past two years. In May 1999 the board recommended the Reading Redevelopment Authority commission the sculpture, with the hope it would be installed by December 1999. The money for the project came from the authority, which requires developers who want to build in a redevelopment area to pay 1 percent of the project cost into a fine arts fund or install art with the same value.
Boeing worker killed in launch pad accident
The Associated Press
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A Boeing employee was killed while performing routine maintenance at a launch pad that is under construction, officials said Tuesday. Bill Brooks, 47, a 10-year employee of the company, was pinned by an overhead crane Monday evening at Launch Complex 37 inside Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Boeing officials said. He was dead on arrival at Cape Canaveral Hospital. The crane was being moved slowly, as part of monthly maintenance, when the accident occurred, said company spokesman Ron Larivee. Launch Complex 37, once completed, will accommodate Boeing's new Delta IV unmanned rocket. Boeing, the Air Force and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating the accident. A subcontractor employee was killed in another part of Launch Complex 37 in July; he was struck by a high-pressure pipe.
Hedgesville man killed when crane goes off road
By GEOFF BROWN
HEDGESVILLE, W.Va. - A 51-year-old Hedgesville man was killed early Thursday when the 25-ton crane truck he was driving ran off a narrow road a half-mile from his house and rolled down a steep embankment, West Virginia State Police said. William R. "Bill" Weigle, of Butts Mill Road, worked for Mack Trucks in Hagerstown, and also owned and operated Weigle's Welding and Crane Service, according to his family. It was unclear where Weigle was heading at about 7:25 a.m. Thursday. State Police Cpl. J.L. Folk said Weigle was driving the crane north on Butts Mill Road a mile short of W.Va. 9 when he apparently got too close to the edge of the narrow road, "dropped a wheel over and tipped ... and rolled down a 20-foot embankment." Weigle was trapped inside the cab of the crane and died at the scene of the accident, Folk said. Rescuers answered a 7:30 a.m. call to the accident, Folk said. There were no other vehicles involved and no witnesses to the accident, Folk said. Mike Weigle, the brother of William Weigle, said the road is narrow with nothing but a gravel shoulder, and has steep dropoffs. William Weigle used his crane to help raise rafters for churches free of charge, and used it for a side business in construction, his brother and father said Thursday. Weigle found out just Wednesday that he was going to be a father for the first time, Mike Weigle, said. "I was aggravating him yesterday, said 'You're going to be 70 by the time the kid's in high school,'" said Mike Weigle, who also lives on Butts Mill Road. William Weigle and his wife, Delia, were excited about the prospect of a child, and were making plans about where the baby should sleep and what kind of a bed to get, Mike Weigle said. "He's a hell of a brother," Mike Weigle said. "He's helped a lot of people." Weigle's father, Vaughn Weigle, described a hard-working son who was trying to save for the future. "He seemed to work all the time," Vaughn Weigle said. "He paid his bills and tried to make as much money as he could, but it didn't do any good."
UPDATE, Lacoochee worker crushed by highway support beam
The 32-year-old was working on a project along the Florida Turnpike when a cable holding the beam snapped. By BRADY DENNIS ) St. Petersburg Times,published September 11, 2001
A construction accident in Kissimmee early Monday killed a 32-year-old Pasco County man. David Knight of 21026 Palmer Ave. in Lacoochee was killed about 2 a.m. when a cable hoisting a 150,000-pound support beam snapped. The beam crushed Knight and Enrique Aguilar, 22, of Mount Dora. It also covered the road with debris and closed the northbound lanes of the Florida Turnpike. Knight and Aguilar were working for a construction company on a county contract to build a pedestrian walkway over the highway, said Carole Garcia of the Osceola County Sheriff's Office. After the accident, a medical helicopter took both men to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead. The Osceola County Sheriff's Office, Florida Highway Patrol and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were investigating the accident Monday. A 51-mile stretch of the northbound highway was closed between Yeehaw Junction and the Osceola Parkway, FHP officials said. Traffic headed north from South Florida was detoured at Yeehaw Junction for hours. Only one southbound lane was open. Knight's family could not be reached for comment Monday.
Two workers killed, northbound Turnpike closed in Osceola County
The Associated Press
KISSIMMEE, Fla. - The northbound lanes of the Florida Turnpike were closed Monday after a cable hoisting a 150,000-pound support beam snapped, fatally crushing two construction workers and covering the road with debris. The workers were identified as David Knight, 32, of Pasco County, and Enrique Aguilar, 22, of Mount Dora. They were helping build a pedestrian walkway over the highway when the cable snapped. They were taken to the Orlando Regional Medical Center in Orlando where they were pronounced dead. A 51-mile stretch of the northbound highway was closed between Yeehaw Junction and the Osceola Parkway, said Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Chuck Williams. Traffic headed north from South Florida was detoured at Yeehaw Junction for hours. The southbound lanes later were put to use for both directions. The Osceola County Sheriff's Office was investigating the deaths as accidental.
Crane mishap closes Hathaway
TONY SIMMONS, The News Herald
Hundreds of motorists were forced to idle on both sides of the Hathaway Bridge Friday morning after a crane that is being used to build the new bridge knocked power lines across all four lanes of the current span. No one was injured, and property damage was minimal. Utility workers cleared the obstruction, and traffic was moving again by 10 a.m., about 40 minutes after the lines fell. The Florida Highway Patrol and Bay County Sheriff's Office said a crane operated by Robert Waters, 40, of Panama City, struck power lines beside the bridge. With the lines draped across the crane, Waters stayed inside the vehicle until the flow of electricity could be cut off. "I don't know that he was 'trapped,' but he was complying specifically with recent instructions we have given equipment operators," said Bill Jackson, a spokesman for Granite Construction, the Tampa-based firm contracted to build the new bridge. "It is important to stay inside the equipment until the electricity can be disconnected, unless the equipment is on fire," Jackson said. "That's to protect him from the possibility of being electrocuted." Waters was not hurt. The crane was not on the bridge, said Jackson, who spoke by telephone from Granite's corporate office in Tampa. It was in a work area by the northeastern corner of the bridge. "They were in the process of loading the crane onto a low-boy trailer to carry it to the other end of the bridge," Jackson said. "It backed toward the bridge into a driveway, then pulled toward the roadway. "It was on the shoulder of the road, facing westbound, with its boom lowered 10 degrees from the horizontal" when the accident occurred, Jackson said. "With it down at that angle, it significantly obstructs the view to the operator's right." A Bay County deputy helped control traffic and called for assistance from Gulf Power Company. "In the beginning, we had the eastbound lane totally closed and the westbound lane moving very slowly," Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Emily Balazs said. "We escorted Gulf Power trucks to the scene, and within just a few minutes they had the lines off the bridge." Steve Higginbottom, spokesman for Gulf Power in Pensacola, said no customer outages occurred as a result of the accident. "The crane got into a secondary line that crosses U.S. 98 and feeds into some roadside lighting, so no stores or customers were involved," Higginbottom said. "The only vehicle in contact with the wire was the crane." Higginbottom said Waters did the right thing by staying put and waiting for help to arrive. "That was a smart thing for him to do," Higginbottom said. "If there's a wire on your car, you do not want to get out of the car. Never assume it's dead. Always assume it's live, and if it's on your vehicle, stay in your vehicle." Florida Highway Patrol Trooper R.K. Hunley, who investigated the accident, estimated damage to the crane at $1,200. The bridge was not damaged. Compared to the larger, floating monster cranes that are employed in bridge construction, this crane was relatively small, Jackson said - a 35-ton rough terrain crane designed for mobility and use in smaller workspaces. Jackson said he was not aware of any other significant traffic delays that had been caused by the construction work. The new, $80 million bridge will have twin spans with three lanes each. The first 200-ton segment will be placed on pilings this fall. Completion is scheduled for summer 2003. Work began with about 60 workers on-site, and employment should peak at about 200 workers.
UPDATE, OSHA fines marine company after accident
By: Karyn-Lynn Fisette September 06, 2001
Three citations were issued to M.G. Marine for misuse of a crane that collapsed early last month, landing on a dry dock behind the former Harbor Marine on Water Street. Mark Ginalski, owner and operator of M.G. Marine, was fined $1,500 by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) for failure to comply with the limitations specified by the manufacturer of the crane. A second violation was issued for failure to post load capacities, operating speeds, hazard warnings and instructions on the equipment. And a third citation was issued for failure to have the crane inspected by "a competent and/or recognized person." The OSHA Citation and Notification of Penalty also stated that the three citations were grouped "because they involve similar or related hazards that may increase the potential for injury resulting in an accident." Mr. Ginalski and his lawyer refused to make a comment regarding the condition of M.G. Marine equipment or the citations issued by OSHA.
An Evergreen Park man was killed Saturday when the crane he was operating at the CSX rail yard in Bedford Park collapsed, fire officials said.
Bedford Park firefighters were called to the rail yard at 7000 W. 71st St. at 5:52 a.m. to try to rescue a worker, said Lt. Wayne Hanson. The employee, identified as Warren Kubick, 58, by the Cook County medical examiner's office, was using the crane to lift train cars onto trucks when the machine collapsed, Hanson said. The cause of the accident was uncertain Saturday, but the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Bedford Park police were investigating, Hanson said. It took firefighters using hydraulic lifts and other equipment more than 5 1/2 hours to extricate the crane operator, Hanson said. Kubick, of the 2900 block of West 101st Place, was pronounced dead at the scene, Hanson said.
Damages Awarded In Freeway Crane Accident
A rental company paid almost $500,000 in restitution Wednesday to settle a case in which a truck driver towing a crane took an unauthorized route and struck an overpass on Interstate 8, 10News reported. The criminal charges against Anthony Crane Rental, doing business as Maxim Crane, were dismissed when the company paid for damages stemming from the Aug. 15, 2000, accident. As part of a plea agreement with city prosecutors, Anthony Crane Rental also agreed to establish written procedures for drivers and dispatchers to follow when transporting cranes on California freeways, according to 10News. "Companies and their employees that violate Caltrans transportation permits are going to be held accountable to pay for the damages they cause," San Diego City Attorney Casey Gwinn said. The driver of the truck, Leonard Francis Putt, and a dispatcher for Anthony Crane Rental, Jon Patrick Senecal, pleaded no contest in June to violating the terms of the special permit by allowing the crane to be driven off the permitted route. Each defendant was ordered to pay a $500 fine, $100 in restitution and serve three years probation. In addition, they were ordered to pay restitution to Caltrans for damages to the overpass. No one was injured in the accident, which happened when Putt drove the truck southbound on state Route 163 in Mission Valley, causing the crane to strike the Interstate 8 overpass, 10New reported. The accident shut down the freeway and overpass lanes for several hours. Repair work was completed on the overpass last March.
Construction worker loses arm in collapse of historic Savannah building
By Russ Bynum, Associated Press
SAVANNAH -- A construction worker preparing to move a Civil War-era building from its foundation was critically injured Thursday when the building collapsed. A trauma surgeon had to amputate the man's arm before he could be pulled from the rubble.A construction crew had raised the one-story brick building, part of Savannah's old manufactured gas plant, onto steel rails so it could be moved to allow environmental cleanup work beneath its foundation.The injured worker was checking the rigging that held up the building Thursday morning when the building collapsed. A steel beam pinned his left arm, which was amputated so rescue workers could free him.''It would have taken a very heavy piece of equipment, a crane, to free his arm, and it would have taken a very long time,'' said Assistant Savannah Fire Chief John Rintoul. ''The whole idea is to get him out alive.''Authorities said the worker was in critical condition at Memorial hospital in Savannah. His name was not immediately released. A second worker also pulled from the debris was treated for minor cuts and bruises.Both men worked for International Chimney Corp. of Buffalo, N.Y., which had been hired to move and preserve the historic building by Atlanta Gas Light, which owns the 10-acre property near Savannah's riverfront.The site on the edge of the Savannah historic district was used to convert coal into natural gas to heat homes and power industry from 1853 to 1953.The collapsed building, built in 1866, housed engines that powered the gas plant. Most recently it had been used as an apartment.The cause of the collapse was not known. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating.Atlanta Gas Light plans to sell the property to a developer, but first must remove coal-tar residue beneath the engine building, said company spokesman Shawn Davis.The building was to be moved a few hundred feet from the site so it wouldn't be damaged during the clean up.''It was an admirable effort and it's a shame it wasn't successful, and more regrettable that someone was injured,'' Davis said.The building sat about 15-feet above street level, and its collapse sent bricks and its roof crashing onto the sidewalk below. Police were forced to close the east end of Bay Street, one Savannah's busiest downtown streets.
Worker injured at convention center site
From staff reports, The Natchez Democrat Published Friday, August 31, 2001 12:07 AM CDT A Vicksburg construction worker's arm was amputated Thursday afternooon in an accident at the site of the new Natchez Convention Center.Danny Warner was transported to University Medical Center by ambulance Thursday just after noon after his right arm was severed at the shoulder when a 5,100-pound piece of concrete was dropped on him, said Natchez Police Chief Willie Huff.Robert Shook, project manager for Carothers Construction at the Convention Center, said Warner and Mike Pickering, both with South Central Heating and Plumbing in Vicksburg, were working to install a concrete grease trap.The two were installing metal baffles in the underground grease trap at the center's kitchen on the Wall Street side of the site when the accident happened. When the two finished the installation, Pickering began to lower the trap's concrete lid into place with a crane.As Warner was guiding the lid over the trap, one of the straps holding the lid broke, and it fell on Warner, severing his arm.Shook said Pickering and several fellow plumbers followed Warner to the hospital, and that Pickering went all the way to Jackson."It's a sobering thing whenever something like this happens," Shook said. "It's part of the job, (but) I hate to see anybody get hurt."Shook said the mood at the Convention site was quiet after the accident."It was pretty sober after that," he said. "Something like this wakes everybody up."
Construction worker killed in Gardnerville accident
Associated Press, Thursday August 30th, 2001
GARDNERVILLE (AP) — A 39-year-old construction worker was killed Wednesday when he apparently fell from a crane in an accident at a new housing division in southwest Carson Valley.Raymond Eric Bauer, who recently moved to Nevada from southern California, was working in an aerial bucket on a crane when the machine tipped over, Douglas County Sheriff’s Sgt. Lance Modispacher said Tuesday.Bauer fell or jumped, struck his head and died, Modispacher said. The apparent cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, he said.The accident occurred just before 10 a.m. at a housing subdivision called the Job’s Peak Ranch in an area off Foothill Road in Gardnerville.Bauer was employed by M.C. Neuffer Co. of Reno. He had no permanent address in Nevada.An autopsy was planned and the accident remained under investigation. Modispacher said it was not clear whether the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration would join the probe.
UPDATE, Sunken crane to be pulled from river
By EILEEN STILWELL, Courier-Post Staff,
CAMDEN - Donjon Marine Co. is expected to pull a 110-ton cargo crane from the Delaware River today, a week after it toppled from a collapsing cargo pier. It will be placed on a barge and sold for scrap.The removal marks the first phase of what portends to be a lengthy investigation into what caused Pier 2 at Beckett Street terminal to give way and pitch the 55-year-old crane into the river. Normally, a bustling place, the pier was empty at the time, so no injuries were reported.At a regular meeting of South Jersey Port Corp. on Tuesday, board member Richard Alaimo said it was essential to determine the cause, not just fix the damage. The corporation is a quasi state organization that owns and operates Beckett Street and Broadway terminals in Camden.While old age and obsolete design of the 72-year-old pier are likely suspects, there are others.Pier 2 is surrounded by invasive work being done in the river to berth the USS New Jersey, an 888-foot battleship that is slated to open as a museum in September. Ninety- thousand cubic yards of river bed have been excavated to accommodate the 30-foot draw of the ship and massive pilings have been sunk 80-feet deep into the river bed to hold anchor plates. Piers 1 and 2, which represent about one-third of the berthing space at Beckett Street terminal, have been closed since the accident, along with two transit sheds. Remaining space is tight, but August is a slow month, said SJPC Executive Director Joseph Balzano."I hope to rebuild as quickly as possible, but I don't think we'll replace the crane," he said.SJPC is insured up to $5 million to replace the pier, said Paul Sherwin, of Sherwin Associates, a Cherry Hill firm that insures the port. Insurance also will pick up the $150,000 cost of removing the sunken crane. Any disturbance to the riverbed could have twisted the pilings that supported the pier, said Michael Fasnacht, vice president of engineering at S.T. Hudson Engineers Inc., which represents the port.Fasnacht sent divers down to look at the piers two days before the collapse to examine work recently completed by W. H. Steit Inc. of Hammonton. The company had replaced about 80 pilings under the 2,700 feet of wharf. The $2.6 million project began in January. When some irregularities were reported under Pier 2, Balzano shut it down. On Wednesday, the pier cracked open. Despite efforts to support the crane, it fell into the water. Had the divers not discovered underwater gaps, Balzano said, a ship carrying plywood from South America would have been docked in front of the crane Wednesday."It could have been a disaster," said Balzano.Construction of a hotel next to the Moshulu on the Philadelphia side, opposite Beckett Street, also is stirring up the river.While engineers and insurance inspectors begin to search for a cause, a private auditing firm hired by the New Jersey Department of Treasury is combing through the port's corporation's finances and management policies. The investigation began last week after acting Gov. Donald DiFrancesco vetoed the corporation's budget. A recommendation is expected by the end of October.The state began investigating SJPC after two board members submitted receipts from a port conference in Mexico that included visits to strip clubs. The port corporation's finance director, Marc Orsimarsi, also has been demoted to an accounting position for failing to submit the expense vouchers to the full board for approval.Neither directors Robert Workman and John Clark, whose actions triggered the investigation, nor Orsimarsi attended Tuesday's meeting.
Another Camden pier fails, sending crane into river
By JASON LAUGHLIN, Courier-Post Staff, CAMDEN
Port officials will retrieve a 110-ton crane that toppled into the Delaware River on Wednesday after an unstable pier gave way.The 55-year-old gantry crane should be recovered Monday but won't be usable, South Jersey Port Corp. Executive Director Joseph Balzano said Thursday. The 70-year-old pier is the second in two years to suffer structural failure on the Camden Waterfront. Balzano hopes the pier can be repaired."There are always concerns," Balzano said, referring to the safety of the older piers. "It's up to the engineers to come out and take a look at it."Longshoremen noticed a 125-foot crack in the dock near the crane about 8 a.m. Wednesday, Balzano said. Throughout the day, dockworkers sought a way to prop up the steel- framed crane as it settled lower and lower into the pier. It finally toppled into the river about 4:20 p.m., Balzano said.An inspection earlier this week revealed several of the pier's pilings were dislodged, prompting the port corporation to try to stabilize it, Balzano said.The 1,000-foot private pier, which runs parallel to the river, didn't completely collapse, but droops near the crane's former site. A rail line servicing the Beckett Street Terminal pier also was damaged by the crack and is temporarily unusable. No one was injured.The port corporation placed an oil-absorbant containment boom in the water near the crane as a precautionary measure, though no oil had leaked. The state Department of Environmental Protection has not received any calls about environmental risks, a spokeswoman said Thursday.Officials hope to use a larger crane Monday to pull the fallen crane from the river. The fallen crane, which was used to load and unload cargo ships, could lift 25 tons, Balzano said. It was built in 1945, and the pier was constructed in the early 1930s.The pier is one of three on the Delaware River to experience problems in recent months:
In April 2000, a portion of another pier at another port corporation terminal collapsed into the river, taking several cars with it. That pier, at the Broadway Terminal, was nearly 100 years old, authorities said. In May 2000, Philadelphia's Pier 34 collapsed, killing three employees of the New Jersey State Aquarium. That pier was more than 90 years old. Pier 34's sea wall collapsed, authorities said. Balzano said the Beckett Street Terminal pier's sea wall is still sound.
Worker crushed to death Federal officials are investigating why a 5,000-pound sheet of metal fell on the plant manager at New York Depot Corp., killing him Aug.9.Police said that Jose Carlos Forte, 32, of Rosedale was on the ground directing the movement of a steel plate attached by chain to an excavator at the plant in Inwood that recycles soil.Witnesses said the chain either snapped or slipped off, causing the 8-by-20 foot roadway plate to drop on Forte's head at about 9:15 a.m."As they were lifting it up, the chain wasn't secured properly, so it fell down and crushed him," said Det. Sgt. William Cocks of the Nassau County Homicide Squad. "It's a tragedy."The employee operating the machine was able to get the plate off Forte, and Mike Grottola, who was hired last week to complete on-site crushing of cement, ran up the dirt mound to perform CPR on Carlos, as Forte was known."He had no vital signs. I didn't feel a pulse, so I gave him light CPR and he started breathing again," Grottola said.He said he poured ice on Forte's chest and wrapped a tourniquet around his head to stop the bleeding from the only visible wound. Grottola said Forte was still breathing when he carried him into the ambulance.No one else was injured, police said.Forte was rushed to St. John's Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway, where he was pronounced dead at 9:55 a.m. A funeral was held on Monday morning at St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale. His family could not be reached for comment."He was close to me like my brother," said New York Depot owner Joseph Aragona. "He's been a friend for 17 years. Carlos was a construction specialist second to no one. This accident is something I will be trying to figure out for a while."Aragona said Forte, who was born in Portugal, is survived by his wife."I only met him last week, but he was so nice," Grottola said. "It was a freak accident for a guy who didn't deserve it."The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is investigating the cause of the accident."Typically, these kinds of investigations could take up to six months," said OSHA area director Harvey Shapiro. "We try to go as slowly as possible, looking for if whatever happened were violations of OSHA."If there were violations, OSHA would issue citations against New York Depot, which would probably be accompanied by penalties, Shapiro said."I hope that OSHA does a complete investigation into the entire operation of the facility because there are numerous occupational and health hazards on that site," said Inwood resident Elisa Hinken, a main opponent of the plant.The site on which New York Depot operates is owned by the state Department of Transportation.The plant has been beset by many problems during the past year. Last July, neighbors took the Depot to court over the environmental concerns about the mountain of dirt on the site at 2 Bay Blvd. They are concerned that dust blowing off the roughly 40 feet high pile of dirt may be noxious. That question has delayed the Town of Hempstead from granting Aragona a permit to operate on the Inwood site.On Aug. 3, the Department of Environmental Conservation made a surprise inspection, said DEC spokesman Bill Fonda."The DEC issued them a warning regarding dust abatement operations for not using a sprinkler system to keep the dust wet," Fonda said. "If it happens again, the Depot could get a notice of violation and have to pay a fine." The piles of dirt are also not to exceed 30 feet, but Fonda said the DEC gave the Depot permission to remain at 40 feet while it makes room for a new crusher device that will grind up concrete. After that, the pile heights will have to be in compliance. Fonda added that if the facility is operating without a town building permit, then it is up to the Town of Hempstead to enforce compliance, not the DEC.Another public hearing before the Board of Zoning Appeals about the dirt mountain has been scheduled for 3 p.m. Sept. 12, at the Town Hall Pavilion on Washington Street in Hempstead.The Department of Transportation required Aragona to post a $500,000 bond to guarantee that the mountain of dirt will be removed in the event that the recycling company vacates the property."My facility has gotten shortchanged over the past seven months," Aragona said. "I can'tunderstand why."
Firm fined $125,000 after worker crushed
Welder was making steel frame at time of accident
CAMBRIDGE - A Cambridge company was fined $125,000 yesterday after one of its employees was crushed to death by a three-tonne steel frame.Jorge Ferreira, a 38-year-old welder, died April 4, 2000, at Orchid Automation on Fountain Street around 12:45 a.m., just before the end of his shift.Yesterday, company president Grant Bibby pleaded guilty in court to a charge of failing to ensure proper workplace procedures were followed under the provincial Occupational Health and Safety Act.The fine includes a $25,000 government-mandated victim surcharge."It has been a very tragic experience for everybody. Everybody has taken this extremely seriously,'' Bibby said after court.Ferreira's widow, Paula, didn't attend court. Ferreira has a teenage daughter from a previous marriage.Brian Fukuzawa, lawyer with the Ontario Ministry of Labour, told Justice of the Peace Dave Stafford that on the day of the fatality, Ferreira was welding a large steel frame that was secured by two large clamps and an overhead crane.Another worker needed the crane and it was detached, leaving only the clamps to secure the steel frame, Fukuzawa said.The worker told Ferreira to take a break as the frame wasn't properly secured. Instead, the frame tipped and fell on top of Ferreira, crushing him to death.There were no witnesses to the accident so it isn't known whether Ferreira continued working or not, Fukuzawa later said.Fukuzawa told Stafford that Orchid has no prior convictions under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and has since spent $270,000 in workplace safety improvements, including the hiring of a health and safety manager.That money also includes $50,000 the company paid Ferreira's widow, in addition to payments and benefits she was entitled to receive. The company has also planted a tree and placed a plaque at the plant in Ferreira's honour and marks the anniversary of his death with two minutes of silence, Fukuzawa said.Bibby was granted a year to pay the fine because he said the company is still struggling financially. He later said that when he and his partner bought the company in 1999, they assumed a debt of $3.6 million, which they have whittled down to $200,000. At the time of the accident, Orchid, which makes automatic die-changing machines for the automotive industry, employed 85. Now it has 58 employees because of an economic downturn, he said.
UPDATE, ISU crane accident damage pegged at $100,000 By KEVIN SIMPSON, Pantagraph staff
NORMAL -- A July 27 crane accident at Illinois State University caused about $100,000 in damage, mostly superficial, to the Performing Arts Center building and adjacent Williams Hall.The accident may have been caused by an unexpected change in wind direction that caused a massive steel arm from a tower crane to fall. There were no injuries.The ISU estimate includes materials and labor to make repairs to both buildings, spokesman Jay Groves said. Big Hook Crane Service President John Weaver was piloting one of three mobile cranes being used to lower the 15-ton, 240-foot steel arm, or jib. An easterly wind shifted to the northeast and caused the load to become unstable, Weaver said.The weight shift tipped Weaver's crane, creating a chain reaction that crumpled booms on two other cranes as the tower arm crashed onto the arts center and Williams Hall.The peak wind speed was measured at 17 miles an hour, according to ISU weather gauges.Weaver initially estimated the total cost of the accident at $300,000, about $200,000 of which involved damage to the tower crane arm and the three smaller cranes. Weaver said his company's insurance would cover most of the cost.The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the accident, but an OSHA representative at the Peoria office could not be reached for comment Monday.The arts center is located on School Street west of downtown Normal and is scheduled for completion this fall. Williams Hall, which was built in 1940, is home to the College of Business.
Foreman Crushed To Death at Site
Theresa Vargas, August 10, 2001
A construction foreman from Queens died yesterday morning when a 5,000-pound sheet of metal fell on him at an excavation site in Inwood.Nassau police said Jose Carlos Forte, 32, of Rosedale, was on the ground directing a crane, which was moving the 8-by-20 foot roadway plate. "As they were lifting it up, the plate slipped and it fell down and crushed him," Homicide Squad Det. Sgt. William Cocks said. "It's a tragedy." Forte was pronounced dead at St. John's Hospital in Far Rockaway at 9:55 a.m. His family could not be reached for comment.No one else was injured, police said.Forte worked as a foreman for New York Depot, a soil-excavation recycling plant in Inwood. The company could not be reached for comment yesterday.Police said that it was Forte's duty to secure the chain but that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is conducting an investigation.
Crane crash shock STAFF at a North Sea service company in Aberdeen had a lucky escape yesterday when the jib of a 90-tonne mobile crane crashed through the roof of a workshop.Employees inside the building, including two female members of staff, escaped uninjured in the accident at Halliburton’s Don facility in Howemoss Crescent, Dyce.But one male member of staff who watched the accident happen had to be taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary suffering from shock.The accident happened shortly after 2pm when the mobile crane, which was being used in the back yard at the company's facility, toppled over and struck the equipment repair workshop.
Crane collapses at 'jinxed' demolition site
By N. Srinivasan
A CRANE deployed at a demolition site opposite Mariah Cinema at Al Najda street in Abu Dhabi collapsed yesterday, the third accident at the site in less than ten days. The crane operator is reported to have escaped unhurt and the debris hurtling down the building under demolition did not cause damage to any of the parked cars.According to eye-witnesses, the accident occurred around 8.30am and there were no passers-by, close to the site."We are alarmed at the regularity with which the mishaps occur," said a salesman at a shop in the vicinity, while expressing the fear that the entire site where massive building and demolition works are being carried out, is jinxed.The washrooms attached to his shop are inaccessible due to the debris strewn around, which he says, "has caused us considerable inconvenience," he said.A worker at another construction site close by cited the need for proper training to crane operators as well as periodic maintenance of construction equipment, in order to prevent the recurrence of such accidents. "Fortunately, nothing untoward has happened, as far as human life and property are concerned. But anything could have happened," he remarked.Police cordoned off the area and diverted traffic for a couple of hours, after the accident to clear the way.
UPDATE, Crane death sparks review
By MEAGHAN SHAW, PAUL ROBINSON and RICHARD BAKER, 7 August 2001
Tough new guidelines for cranes on building sites were issued late yesterday following the death of a construction worker on Sunday. Victoria's biggest construction union has also called on the State Government to reintroduce laws to regulate crane safety. The Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union outlined plans for an independent crane inspection service funded jointly by the union and employers through the building industry's long-service-leave fund, Incolink. CFMEU state secretary Martin Kingham said unions had been campaigning for the Victorian WorkCover Authority to resume inspections since the Kennett government deregulated inspections in 1994. "We're not sitting on our hands and waiting for the government to reintroduce a government-funded independent inspectorate," he said. "The employers and unions have agreed to use our own resources to fund an independent inspectorate in the meantime." A meeting of employers, union representatives and WorkCover yesterday endorsed new guidelines for raising the height of tower cranes after a 53-year-old worker was crushed during such an operation by four five-tonne counterweights on Sunday. The worker's body was recovered yesterday from the Southbank site but police advised Whiteman Street would remain closed while the crane was dismantled. The guidelines, issued by WorkCover in a safety alert, state a crane engineer must inspect the counterweight trolleys before a crane is "jumped". The alert advises that only the crane operator and erection rigging crew should be inside a safety zone when a crane is being raised, and no one should be permitted behind the tower, under the counterweights, during the operation. The guidelines are not backed by regulation, but failure to follow them could be used as evidence against a company being prosecuted for safety breaches. The government also announced a special team of WorkCover inspectors would conduct a blitz on construction sites using tower-assisted cranes. Mr Kingham also urged the government to speed up its proposed "industrial manslaughter" bill, which would provide jail sentences for company directors who endangered the lives of workers. The government later said it would introduce the laws in the spring session, which begins on August16.
Another worker dies in accident
By ZOE SMITH, Monday 6 August 2001
Construction workers will stop work today after Victoria's fourth workplace death in 10 days. A 53-year-old construction worker was crushed yesterday by a steel counterweight that fell from a crane on a high-rise apartment building site in Melbourne's Southbank. Today's walkoff comes after building workers left the job last Friday over the death of a 42-year-old construction worker at a western suburbs building site. The Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union said workers on all construction sites would leave work today as a mark of respect for their dead colleague. CFMEU state secretary Martin Kingham said he had known the worker well and was shocked by his death. Mr Kingham said the man, from Broadmeadows, was a long-time construction worker with a wife and adult children, who had been a union shop steward for 12 years. "It is just shocking," he said. He condemned the death as outrageous and a shocking waste of life. The company operating the site, Central Equity, did not return phone calls yesterday. The union's health and safety secretary, Pat Preston, said construction workers at the Whiteman Street site were "in severe shock" and were being counselled. Whiteman Street remained closed to traffic last night as police and WorkCover officials examined the scene of the accident. The accident happened about 12.30pm yesterday. The steel counterweight, of more than 20 tonnes, fell from a crane, demolishing four balconies. The worker, who was in a hoist on the side of the apartment block, was crushed by the weight. "A preliminary engineer's report has said the site is safe but the crane must be dismantled as soon as possible," Mr Preston said. Mr Kingham said the accident happened as the crane was being "jumped" - moved higher to accommodate the building's upward progress. "It is work that takes place on a Sunday when there are not a lot of workers around because it is quite a dangerous job," he said. Yesterday's fatality was the fourth workplace death in Victoria in the past 10 days, including two on building sites. Last Thursday a 42-year-old father of four from Yarragon in eastern Victoria was crushed to death under a scissor lift while building a refrigerated storeroom at a site in Melbourne's west. At the time Mr Kingham said workers would not return to work until a top-to-bottom safety inspection had been conducted on all sites. Last Monday maintenance worker Franjo Kupina, 45, died after being crushed by a furnace door at West Footscray. Another man, 62, was hit by a tree being felled at a farm at Koondrook, on the Murray River, on Wednesday. Their deaths take the number of workplace fatalities this year to 18. Last week the Master Builders Association estimated that Friday's stoppage would affect 20,000 workers and cost $20 million in lost productivity, but the union suggested those figures should be doubled. The deaths come after Justice Philip Cummins fined Esso $2 million last Monday for breaching occupational health and safety laws that contributed to the deaths of two workers in the Longford gas explosion.
Crane topples in Wellington
A crane mounted on a truck toppled on The Terrace in Wellington when it tipped while attempting to lift a concrete block structure. No-one was injured and police diverted traffic while workers cleared the area. The concrete structure is on the side of the road and will be coned off overnight before attempts to move it into the drain on Friday. Senior Sergeant Paul Berry says it appears a support leg on the crane failed. Occupational Safety and Health is investigating the accident. It is the second crane accident in Wellington recently. And Tranz Rail's Lynx Ferry was late into Wellington on Thursday afternoon due to a combination of high winds and a fishing boat taking up space in the busy port. Tranz Rail says very high winds meant the ferry was unable to safely manoeuvre around the fishing boat.
UPDATE, Outlook good for injured LES worker
BY MARGARET REIST Lincoln Journal Star
"Hi, mom." Those two words made Anita Pellan's day Thursday, if not her year. They probably rank right up there with the best two words she's ever heard. Because such greetings - such casual, every-day kind of remarks -- take on added significance when they're said by your 34-year-old son just three days after 7,200 volts of electricity coursed through his body. They mean everything when you've sat by his bed in the Saint Elizabeth Regional Medical Center's burn unit, when you've prayed for your heavily sedated son, a tube down his throat, life support equipment attached to his body. "We just took it moment by moment," Pellan said Thursday of the accident that critically injured her son Mike Pellan - a Lincoln Electric System employee hit in the neck by a live electric line while he worked near 70th Street and Bluff Road Tuesday morning. "It was really great to hear his voice and realize he recognized us," said Pellan of North Bend. Mike Pellan, who is unmarried and has two sisters and a brother, has had family members by his side since the accident. Dr. Chet Paul called the recovery miraculous - and he credited the Lincoln man's survival to a co-worker who got him safely down from the "bucket" he was working in and performed CPR until help arrived. "In all likelihood, he saved his life, so that fellow is a hero," Paul said. LES officials declined to name the co-worker, who they said was still very upset by what happened. But they also commended him for the action he took - procedures employees are trained in but seldom need to use. The last time contact with an electrical wire injured an employee was in 1997. Before that, it was in the 1980s, said LES Operations Manager Neil Engelman. "It catches our attention and makes us aware of how dangerous electric work is," he said. Mike Pellan was working on a nonenergized line when he rotated his bucket and inadvertently touched a live line, Engelman said. LES officials are reviewing the accident, and it appears he thought the live wire was below him. Employees were just as happy to learn that their co-worker - who has worked for LES since December but had about five years of experience before that with Nebraska Public Power District - was alert and off most of the life support equipment Thursday. "It's remarkable in my mind," Engelman said. "We've been with Anita for three days now, we didn't know what permanent damage there might be." Dr. Paul said the prognosis for a full recovery is good. Mike Pellan suffered third-degree burns on his neck where the wire touched him, and his right hand where the electricity left his body. He will likely have to undergo some skin grafting on his right arm and hand, Paul said. But the electric contact was not long enough to cause significant damage to his muscles, he said. His mother credits her son's quick recovery to faith - an important part of their lives. E-mails came to her from acquaintances all over the country who sent their prayers online, she said. "We were just putting our trust in the Lord and our faith, and taking it day by day," she said.
Crane Accident Blocks Street
By Staff Reporter Leigh Catley at 3:47pm, 2nd August 2001
A rolled truck and fallen crane blocked traffic on central Wellington street The Terrace for about an hour and a half this afternoon. The crane was mounted on to the back of the truck and appeared to slip over as it was lifting a concrete block. It is unknown if a power cut in the central city at about the same time was related to the accident. Only one lane of the street was open.
Wharfie crushed in Lyttelton
Occupational Safety and Health is investigating what plans were in place to manage hazards at the Port of Lyttelton after a stevedore was severely crushed while unlodading a ship on Wednesday afternoon. The man is in now in a serious condition in Christchurch Public Hospital. Margaret Radford of the Canterbuy West coast branch of OSH says two cranes were used during the unloading of a ship and when the vessel rolled on a wave, one container swung and trapped the man against another container.
She says while the use of both cranes at once is customary, OSH will be looking closely at what plans were in place to manage the potential hazards.
Crane Crashes, Kills 2
Authorities are investigating the cause of a deadly accident in Davie County.
Investigators said that two men died when a crane tipped over on Highway 801 just north of Farmington. Emanuel Bonaparte told NewsChannel 12 that he witnessed the accident. Bonaparte was working in his yard, which is next to the construction site where the tower was being built. Workers were using a crane to build another crane for the construction project. Two workers were on top of the second crane, which is 15 stories in the air. "It began to bend, and it fell with the two guys on top," Bonaparte said. "It went crashing through the trees and made a tremendous noise." "The end of the crane buckled, and it started going down into the woods on the back side of the site," County Manager Ken Windley said. Bonaparte said that the crash shook the ground. Inspectors spent the afternoon looking over the damage to figure out what happened. The names of the two men who died haven't been released. The worked for a company in Kentucky that builds water towers. OSHA's report isn't expected for several weeks.
UPDATE, Damage from crane crash estimated at $300,000 By KEVIN SIMPSON, Pantagraph staff
NORMAL -- An unexpected change in wind direction apparently led to an estimated $300,000 in damage caused by a crane accident Friday at Illinois State University. A massive steel arm from a tower crane was being lowered when it crashed into the four-story Performing Arts Center building and adjacent Williams Hall about 9:50 a.m. There were no injuries.Big Hook Crane Service President John Weaver was piloting one of three mobile cranes being used to lower the 15-ton, 240-foot steel arm, or jib. An easterly wind shifted to the northeast and caused the load to become unstable, Weaver said.The weight shift tipped Weaver's crane, creating a chain reaction that crumpled booms on two other cranes as the tower arm crashed onto the arts center and Williams Hall.Friday's peak wind speed was measured at 17, according to ISU weather gauges. "The wind had shifted during the lift and had changed directions," said Weaver. "It really had an effect on the cranes."Weaver said his company's insurance would cover most of the cost.The arts center is located on School Street west of downtown Normal and is scheduled for completion this fall.The accident did damage to the arts center and to Williams Hall, which was built in 1940 and is home to the College of Business.The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the accident. University spokesman Jay Groves said construction delays will be minimal because most work at the arts center is being done inside. Groves could not verify the damage estimate provided by Weaver.Weaver said the incident represents a minor setback for his company, which has 23 cranes. The tower crane was not immediately scheduled on another job site.
French Train Derailed by Crane
PERIGUEUX, France (AP) - Two passenger trains collided in southwestern France on Monday, after one of the trains derailed when it hit a crane that had fallen onto the tracks from a nearby construction site, police said. Eleven people were injured in the collision outside Perigueux, 250 miles southwest of Paris. Nine of the injured were being treated at a nearby hospital, police said. The crane caused an eastbound train traveling from Bordeaux to Lyon to jump the tracks and collide into the second train, passing by on its way south from Limoges to Perigueux. Officials were investigating how the crane fell onto the rails.
ISU crane arm collapses
No one hurt in accident
By KEVIN SIMPSON, Pantagraph staff
NORMAL -- No one was injured Friday when a 100-foot-long steel arm -- being lowered from a tower crane above the Illinois State University Performing Arts Center -- crashed onto the four-story building and adjacent Williams Hall. The accident took place at about 9:50 a.m. at the site of the Performing Arts Center construction project. It appears one of three mobile cranes from Big Hook Crane Service in Normal malfunctioned or was affected by a wind gust. The arts center, scheduled for completion this fall, is located on School Street west of downtown Normal. Two of the cranes were being used to lower the third crane's massive extension arm, or jib. The accident tipped one crane and crumpled the booms of the other two. "We had just walked out of the (arts) building when we heard it," said Bill Brockett, a foreman for Union Roofing in Bloomington also working at the site. "It looked like the wind caught the jib, and then it got away from them. All we saw was everything going that way (west) and it hit. "It sounded like a train crashing." Friday evening, university spokesman Jay Groves said the accident did minimal damage to the under-construction arts center and to Williams Hall, which was built in 1940. At Williams Hall, home of the College of Business, damage was limited to a broken window, broken bricks and siding, and some damage to a top-story mechanical room. There was also some damage to the top of the arts center, where roofing work is being done, Groves said. A damage estimate probably won't be available until Monday or Tuesday, Groves said. Inspectors from the university's safety office were examining Williams Hall on Friday, and if the building is deemed safe, it will reopen for university use today, Groves said. For safety reasons, the area immediately around the cranes had been cleared of workers before the attempt to lower the jib. Others were taking a break inside the arts building when they were shaken by the violent jolt. "We knew something wasn't right as soon as we heard it," said a construction worker who declined to give his name. "It was a small boom and you felt a small shudder like an earthquake kind of for a second or two. It could have been a lot worse, that's for sure." The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the accident, which forced the evacuation of more than 100 people from Williams Hall. John Weaver, president of Big Hook Crane Service and operator of the mobile crane that was toppled, declined comment. A spokesman for Pontiac-based Vissering Construction, the general contractor on the project, could not be reached for comment. Two workers who had helped disconnect the jib from the tower crane were standing atop the crane's cab at the time of the accident. The boom on the 14-wheeled crane operated by Weaver struck the southeast corner of Williams Hall and prevented the crane from fully tipping over. That crane's arm snapped from the boom and fell onto the top of Williams Hall. ISU painter Bill Bieber was glazing and caulking windows on the south side of Williams Hall when he heard the sound of buckling steel. He looked up as the jib from the crane toppled onto and over the roof's edge about 20 feet from him. "It made a thundering crash and everything was swaying my direction," said Bieber. "You can't predict where it's going to bend and buckle. You just start trying to get away and hope you moved in the right direction. "It's a miracle nobody was hurt. It's a noise I don't ever want to hear again," Bieber said. More cranes were brought in to help remove the damaged equipment from the rooftops Friday afternoon. The crane's base tower is 120 feet tall. The jib, or extension, can be up 240 feet long and is used to shuttle building materials. The crane can lift a 6,600-pound load when the trolley is 135 feet from center and up to 24,000 pounds when it's closest to center. When in use, tower cranes are the most stable hoisting devices at a construction site, said Steve Fonderoli of Country Crane in LaSalle. "Once a tower crane is assembled, they're the safest crane on the site because of all the limit switches, which won't allow the crane to pick up more than its capacity," said Fonderoli. He said the degree of difficulty in assembling and disassembling it is "the most dangerous aspect of the tower crane." OSHA standards require the crane to be shut down when the wind reaches 20 mph. The top wind speed as recorded by ISU Friday was 17 mph.
UPDATE,OSHA surveys damage at church site; 3 workers remain hospitalized at UK
HERALD-LEADER STAFF REPORT
Investigators spent yesterday trying to figure out what led to the collapse of a Lincoln County church roof that injured four workers. Meanwhile, three of the injured workers remained in the University of Kentucky hospital in fair condition yesterday. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration arrived in McKinney yesterday to survey the accident site, along with the building's architect, the State Fire Marshall's office and the Lincoln County Building and Codes Division. According to police, 12 wood trusses, weighing about 1,000 pounds each, collapsed and fell to a concrete floor around 3:45 p.m. Monday. Workers Bobby Statom and Jacob Ison were flown to the UK Hospital by helicopter shortly after the accident. Shawn Reynolds was taken to the Fort Logan Hospital in Stanford and then to UK. All three remained in fair condition at the hospital yesterday. A fourth worker was treated at the scene. The church, which was founded in 1921, is in the process of building a new sanctuary in Lincoln County. The construction work was being performed by Allen Builders.
Crane Worker Rescued After Collapsing Far Above District
By Clarence Williams, Washington Post Staff Writer, Sunday, July 22, 2001
A crane operator suffered a seizure and had to be rescued from a height of about 200 feet by the D.C. fire department yesterday evening in Northwest Washington. High atop the construction site at 1625 I St. NW, Gary Keller, of Huntsville, Ohio, collapsed about 6:30 p.m. Paramedics and members of the high-angle rescue team who were called to the site climbed to the top of the school-bus-yellow crane to secure the patient and check his condition. Rescuers then used a second, taller crane that stood 260 feet above the site's excavation ditch to hoist a basket to the paramedics. Keller was strapped to the gurney and then gently glided down to the safety of I Street, almost an hour later. "I had the easy part," said firefighter James Gordon, who rode the cable with Keller to keep the patient calm. "My partner had to climb back down." Keller, 42, takes medication for seizures, but officials did not know for what illness, said Alan Etter, a fire department spokesman. Keller was taken to George Washington University Hospital, where he was in good condition last night. Gordon joined the Rescue Squad 1 high-angle team about a year ago, and he said the rescue was his first ride of this type. "We don't do this every day," he said. "This is what we train for." Yesterday was Keller's first day on the D.C. construction job, Etter said. He was in and out of consciousness during the episode, Gordon said. The crane work was part of the construction of a nine-story office and retail building at the site.
Falling crane part kills one
A Cambodian worker was killed and three Thais were injured when a giant scoop on a quayside crane smashed through a warehouse roof at a privately-owned port beside the Chao Phraya river in Samut Prakan, yesterday morning.Police said Manas (surname unknown), 40, was controlling the 20-metre high, 12-wheeled crane to lift fertiliser out of a ship to feed a packaging machine at Sap Sataporn port in Phra Pradaeng district. He lost control of the machine and the five-ton steel scoop plunged inside the 10m-high warehouse and crushed Thuan Yuan, a 35-year-old Cambodian labourer to death. The scoop also hit Yodying Yaithong, 19, his mother Sompit, 48, and a 10-year-old boy called Ton.They suffered bruises and minor cuts. The crane driver fled the scene.
UPDATE, OSHA proposes fines for company over worker’s death
By Andy Powell, Times Staff Writer, July 20, 2001 OSHA has cited a company working on the replacement of Thompson Bridge near Walnut Grove for safety violations and proposed penalties totaling $85,400 after the investigation of a Feb. 2 accident that killed a worker.The Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Clark Construction Co. of Headland for four safety violations in connection with the accident that killed Phillip Timothy Robinson, 41, of Colbert County.Robinson was killed when a crane boom collapsed and fell on him.The company has 15 working days to contest the penalties and proposed fine before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. A safety spokesman for Clark could not be reached Thursday for comment.According to OSHA, on the day of the accident four bridge construction company employees were removing a 21-foot section from an 80-foot link-belt crane. Thompson was standing under the crane and while he was pounding out a pin, the boom collapsed and fell on him.The company was issued a willful citation with a proposed penalty of $63,000 for not properly supporting the crane, which was about six feet off the ground."Had this employer followed the manufacturer's instructions and OSHA regulations regarding the dismantling of the crane, this fatality would have been avoided," said William A. Burke, acting director of OSHA's Birmingham office.The company also was cited for two alleged safety violations with proposed penalties totaling $11,200 for failing to inspect the crane each day prior to use to make sure it was in safe operating condition, and for failing to properly train employees to recognize and avoid unsafe conditions.The company also received an additional $11,200 proposed penalty for a repeat offense of failing to barricade the accessible rear-swing-radius area of the crane cab so employees could not enter that space and risk being crushed as the cab turned.The company was cited in 1999 for a similar violation.
UPDATE, 33 workers feared dead as 600-tonne crane topples
A staff reporter, Hong Kong iMail and agencies
AS many as 33 people died when a 600-tonne crane collapsed at a Shanghai shipyard early yesterday, a day after at least 47 people were killed in an blast at a Shaanxi explosives depot. The shipyard accident, the latest in a string of catastrophic accidents on the mainland, happened at 7.55am when the gantry crane collapsed onto dozens of workers at the plant operated by Hudong Shipbuilding Group, the official Xinhua News Agency and mainland websites reported. Xinhua said 22 workers were confirmed killed, while another 11 were still stuck under the collapsed crane ``with little chance to come back alive''. Nearby residents said they heard a huge crash and felt the earth shake under them at the time of the accident, leading many to believe they were experiencing a minor quake. At least 47 people were killed on Monday when illegally-stored explosives blew up in a Shaanxi province village, Xinhua reported yesterday. But people in the village of Mafang said the toll was probably much higher after the early morning blast razed at least 30 cave houses cut out of loess hillsides. ``The explosion came in the middle of the night when the whole village was asleep,'' said one man in the village, 400 kilometres north of the provincial capital of Xian - the home of the famed Terracotta Warriors. ``It tore down several rows of cave-houses. At least 30 of them just disappeared,'' the villager, surnamed Ma, said by telephone. ``I saw more than 50 dead bodies pulled from the ruins yesterday.'' A village woman said: ``I think there were at least 150 people killed. The blast could be heard from a dozen kilometres away.'' A local government official, who gave his surname as Li, said rescue teams were busy combing the rubble for more victims. Some 50 injured, including children and babies, were taken to hospitals in the nearby city of Yulin, where doctors said most were in a stable condition. Xinhua said police were looking for a man who had hidden explosives in his brother's house in April to avoid a crackdown on illegal explosives. In another report yesterday, Xinhua said 21 coal miners who had been trapped underground for two weeks had been confirmed dead. The miners were buried on July 1 after water leakage caused a collapse in their mine at Baishan city in the northeastern province of Jilin. Beijing recently ordered all privately-run small coal mines to close following frequent accidents. Xinhua said the Baishan mine was one of those that should have been closed. 18 July 2001 / 03:31 AM
Norfolk man dies in accident at weapons station
By R.W. Rogers, Daily Press, Published: Tuesday, July 17, 2001
YORKTOWN NAVAL WEAPONS STATION - A Norfolk man was crushed to death Monday at the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station when a concrete block slipped from a crane -- the seventh work-related death there since 1996. Gary McCracken was helping move a large piece of concrete from a barge onto the weapons station pier when it fell on him about 9 a.m., according to Navy and civilian sources. McCracken, 30, was pronounced dead at the scene. There were no other injuries. The weapons station pier is undergoing an $18.8 million renovation by the McLean Contracting Co., which specializes in pier and bridge work. The company is headquartered in Glen Burnie, Md., although McCracken worked for the company out of the Chesapeake office as a laborer. He'd been with the company since May 2000. "We aren't sure what happened," said Fred Rich, executive vice president for McLean. "We are trying to conduct our own investigation. "The work being done was setting a concrete cap on top of a pier piling. It was at that point that something happened," said Rich, who described the block of concrete as "sizable" and said it arrived on a barge. The Occupational Safety and Heath Administration and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service are investigating the incident. A Navy Judge Advocate General investigation is also likely, said John Peters, a spokesman for the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic Region, which contracted McLean to do the renovation work. Pier work has been temporarily halted. The marine contracting company won the award to replace the south pier and railroad trestle in December 1999. Work started in March 2000 and was expected to be finished in early 2002. This is the seventh work-related death at Yorktown Naval Weapons Station since 1996. Four men died in September 1996 when they were overcome by fumes while working in a sewage tank. In 1998, two more people died. A sailor was crushed when the forklift he was driving tipped over on an incline. Less than a month later a man died after being hit by scaffolding.
Crashing crane kills 20 in Shanghai
Tuesday, July 17, 2001 at 18:15 JST
BEIJING - About 20 people were killed and at least 10 injured at a Shanghai shipbuilding yard on Tuesday when a 600-tonne gantry crane crashed down on them, an executive at the yard said. The toll could rise as an unknown number of people were trapped underneath the wreckage and hopes that any of them survived were slim, she told Reuters by telephone. The crane fell from "an enormous height" on a group of workers and engineers at Hudong China Shipbuilding Plant in Shanghai's Pudong district, she said. "There are still an uncertain number of workers and engineers trapped under the crane and efforts are being made to rescue them," she said. Doctors at the Shanghai Dongfang Hospital said three injured people were undergoing operations and were still in danger. Several other people with lesser injuries were in stable conditions at the shipbuilder's own hospital, doctors said. The executive said an investigation had begun into why the crane toppled. (Reuters News)
Man killed at Weld pump site
Story By Staff Reports, Posted on Friday, July 13 @ 01:22:31 EDT
An employee of a Fort Lupton energy company was crushed to death by a piece of equipment on an oil well Wednesday afternoon about two miles south of Wattenberg near the Weld County-Adams County line. The man was identified as Martin Mireles, 48, of Burlington. He had been staying with relatives in Evans. He was employed by Key Energy Services of Fort Lupton for about a week before he died in the accident. According to Weld County Coroner Scott Anthony, Mireles was working with his brother-in-law on a pump that had a leaking line. He apparently reached under the pump arm to pick up a wrench when the counterweights from the arm hit and killed him. “Death was probably instantaneous,” Anthony said. At Key Energy, employee Baxter Haley said Mireles was a professional tree trimmer in Burlington before he went to work for the company last week. Inspectors for the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration were at the scene Thursday, inspecting the site of the death. Haley said the inspection is a standard requirement in the event of an industrial death.
Electrical worker critically burned on the job
By Eve Sullivan, Staff Writer
STAMFORD - A Canadian man was severely burned while working on a utility pole yesterday morning on High Ridge Road. Yvon Primo, 53, was listed in critical condition at Westchester County Medical Center in Valhalla, N.Y., where he was taken after the 9:25 a.m. incident. Primo, who lives near Montreal, was working for Thiro, a Newington company that subcontracts to Connecticut Light & Power. His crew was transferring wires from one pole to another at 856 High Ridge Road. Witnesses said they heard an explosion, then saw an arc - a luminous discharge of electric current - and a bright flash. "You couldn't really see the guy in the bucket for a second or so," said police Officer Paul Mellett, who was stationed at the site. Mellett radioed for help and had Primo's co-workers lower his bucket to the ground. He said Primo's flame-retardant clothing partially caught fire. "He was actually conscious," Mellett said. "He wanted to climb out of the bucket, but we made him stay in." Deputy Fire Marshal Frank Docimo, who arrived first on the scene with the Turn of River Fire Department, said Primo was standing in the bucket and speaking in French. "It was instantaneous," Docimo said. "It was just one bright flash, and it was over. In a millisecond, he went from being OK to being severely burned. It was almost like being struck by lightning." Rescue workers removed Primo's protective clothing and saw he was extensively burned on the front and back of his body. "It was apparent that this was a life-threatening injury," Docimo said. "I told my partner to make sure the burn units were on alert." Docimo said Primo had burns on about 75 percent of his body. Police officers said Primo appeared to be in shock and the skin was peeling off his back. "You could see he had second- and third-degree burns; his clothing was partially burnt off his body," police Sgt. Clifton Weed said. Deputy Fire Chief Lewis Belmont said rescuers removed Primo's clothing and placed a sterile sheet around him. They doused the sheet with water. Primo was initially taken to Stamford Hospital and later transported to Westchester County Medical Center's burn unit. John Swanson, a CL&P supervisor in Glenbrook, arrived on the scene shortly after the accident. "All I know is they were going to do the pole shift," Swanson said. "They were changing the wires to a new pole." Swanson said it's typical for CL&P to work with "energized conductors" and not shut off the power. He said he didn't know what caused the arc. "There's so many different things that conduct electricity," Swanson said. "It could have happened many different ways." Swanson said Primo appeared to be doing everything right, including wearing protective clothing. Several pieces of Primo's clothing were scattered around the roadway near the charred bucket, including a burnt orange coverall, rubber gloves, pants and a belt that had to be cut off him. "It happens time to time. It's not totally unheard of," Swanson said of the accident. "There are some hazards with the job that need to be taken into consideration." Primo came to Connecticut with a crew of other Canadians, authorities said. The state Occupational Safety and Health Administration was investigating at the site yesterday afternoon.
Crane accident barges in on Whitewater celebration plans
(Published Friday, June 29, 2001 10:35:26 AM CDT) By Frank Schultz/Gazette
WHITEWATER--The boom was in the lake this morning, casting doubt on whether there would be any booms over the lake tonight. Whitewater City Manager Gary Boden could see it from his office window this morning--the crane lying on its side next to Cravath Lake downtown, its boom in the water. The crane was key to setting up Whitewater's fireworks displays, scheduled for tonight and Saturday. "We are all going to wait today to find out what's going to happen," Boden said. The crane was lifting a barge into the lake Thursday afternoon when it toppled. The barge was one of two that were to be joined to form a platform from which fireworks were to be shot. It was the first time anyone had tried to stage fireworks on the lake, in view of the new lakefront park. As the barge entered the water at about 3:15 p.m., the crane flipped over, Boden said. No one was injured. "The operator apparently was pretty shook up because he got sideways," Boden said. "He had to crawl out rather precariously." "It's funny how things happen in slow motion," said Bill Bowen of the nonprofit Fourth of July Corp., who saw the accident. "It was probably all of 15 seconds, but it seemed like two minutes. You're watching it happen, and there's nothing you can do about it." Three other cranes were brought in but could not lift it out of the lake, Boden said. This morning, three larger cranes were said to be on their way to try again. Bowen said the boom might have to be cut off to rescue the machine. A second barge was still sitting on a flatbed truck this morning, waiting to be lifted into the 86-acre lake. As The Janesville Gazette went to press this morning, Bowen said he was hopeful the second barge could be put in the lake in time for tonight's fireworks. "I think it's going to work," he said. Bowen seemed determined that the show would go on if at all possible. He said the Fourth of July Corp. was set up about 20 years ago to ensure that the community would have a celebration, "and we have. And we will."
Crane Causes Traffic Drama
By Staff Reporter Leigh Catley at 4:13pm, 3rd July 2001
A collapsed crane in downtown Wellington is causing huge problems for traffic and is likely to continue to do so through rush hour tonight. At about midday the crane was lifting a bin of bricks at a construction site on Cambridge Terrace when it collapsed aross the street. Trolley bus wires were cut and the accident has closed the north end of Cambridge Terrace and forced the evacuation of several nearby buildings. No one was injured in the accident but witnesses say it was fortunate the traffic lights had held up traffic at the moment the crane fell. Wellington Police said the Occupational Health and Safety investigators must finish their evaluation of the accident site before the road can be cleared. They don't expect to be able to move the crane until at least 7pm.
Courthouse crane snaps
A giant crane being used to construct the new downtown Federal courthouse broke in half Monday with a loud crack, sending workers and nearby pedestrians scurrying. There were no injuries and only minor damage to the building. The accident happened in mid-afternoon. The crane, working on the Julia Street side of the building, snapped about halfway up its length. The broken half of the crane grazed the facing of the building, but officials at the Beers construction company, which is handling the project, said damage was slight. Work was halted on the project while the crane was removed and replaced, and it was expected that the construction would be back in full operation today.
Fall River man electrocuted
BLACKSTONE -- A 50-year-old construction worker is dead after being electrocuted while maneuvering high-voltage wires in a steel cherry picker bucket at the town's High Rocks sewer project Thursday, police said. The Fall River man was felled by a line with 73,500 volts of electricity. He dropped about 15 feet from the bucket onto the dirt road below and died instantly, police said. Police Chief Ross A. Atstupenas identified the victim as Luis F. Sousa of 271 Glasgow St., Fall River. He was reportedly a foreman on the crew employed by ODF Contracting Co. Inc. of Dorchester, Mass., which has a $2 million contract with the town to install sewerage into the High Rocks area that includes Main and County streets, town officials said. State Police taking charge at the site, between 12 and 13 Staples Ave., about 150 yards from the Blackstone Gorge and dam, immediately shut down the work after the 2 p.m. accident. Local authorities contacted the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which is expected to investigate the accident today. "He was in the bucket tying the wires up to raise them," said Officer Howard McGourty, one of the first emergency personnel to respond. McGourty said that Sousa was 15 to 18 feet off the ground inside the bucket of a piece of heavy equipment that operates like a back hoe with a huge crane-like arm to dig the sewer trenches when something went horribly wrong. He had tied together two or three sections of wires with nylon cord -- electrical, cable, telephone -- and was attempting to do the same to another section, McGourty said, when apparently a part of the machinery arm attached to the bucket hit the electrical wires. While Sousa was standing in a bucket that was three-quarters filled with sand, rescue workers surmised that Sousa "must have moved or turned," McGourty said, striking the metal machinery with his back. That's where the electricity shot into his body, flinging him from the bucket truck, face-first onto the ground, police said. "The (police) detail guy said it was like an explosion, it sounded like a shot," McGourty said. One older couple living nearby at 13 Staples Ave., Vincent and Marie Erickson, were home when the accident happened. "I was inside ironing and I saw the sparks and I came out to see what happened," Marie Erickson said. Like everyone nearby, she knew immediately the victim had little chance to survive. "It's sad. I feel bad for his family," she said. "The first officer who arrived checked for a pulse and there was none," said McGourty, who arrived just afterwards along with fire department EMTs. Shortly before 5 p.m., about three hours after the accident, Cartier's Funeral Home in Bellingham removed the body and transported the deceased to the Worcester County Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy. Police said a work crew of six or seven people from ODF Construction was at the site. Police said they were told that by tying the wires together, the crane-like arm of the machinery, with the bucket attached to it, would be able to swing virtually in a circle on the narrow street, which was supposedly a safe maneuver. "It's a very unfortunate accident and we'll just have to see what OSHA says," said Town Administrator Michael J. Guzinski, who was summonsed to the site as the person responsible for the town's sewer contract. While Guzinski said he could offer no further details about what happened, he was certain the often-delayed High Rocks project would be postponed indefinitely, pending the OSHA investigation. "They will have to give the town and the contractor the OK to proceed," he said. Guzinski acknowledged the town has been unhappy with the progress made by ODF Construction, which began work last summer, stopped for the winter and resumed work about three weeks ago. "Our main concern has been the fact they haven't been as eager to complete the project as quickly as we'd like," Guzinksi said. Because of additional costs associated with the delays, town meeting voters this spring appropriated an additional $500,000 for the High Rocks sewer project. The initial contract was for $1.8 million. This is part of several sewer projects in various stages of start-up that will cost about $8 million. Guzinski also said ODF "has been switching crews," causing problems for sewer engineers. He did not know how long Sousa had been working on this project. The accident also caused lost power in the immediate area, although some homeowners, like the Ericksons, said theirs had been restored. Massachusetts Electric Co. was contacted to restore power. Police had no explanation for why the utility company was not asked to move the power lines prior to the accident. "Right now our thoughts and prayers are for the person who was killed and his family," Guzinski said.
Crane Crushes Car on U.S. 98
The car's driver and passenger and the crane's operator were sent to the hospital.
Friday, July 6, 2001; By WILL VASH, The Ledger
LAKELAND -- A construction crane toppled onto a car traveling on U.S. 98 South on Thursday afternoon, injuring a father and his 14-year-old son and trapping the teen-ager in the crushed vehicle for more than an hour before rescuers could free him. Driver David L. Adams, 41, and Ryan Adams, both of 2731 W. 10th St., were traveling south past Lakeland High School about 2:45 p.m. when the crane belonging to Miller Bros. of Florida, out of Tampa, crushed their white Dodge. Ryan Adams was pinned in the car, with a portion of the crane across his shoulder, according to witnesses. "The kid was saying he was hurt and didn't remember what happened. We told him not to move and hold on," said Brian Cheek, 24, one of the drivers who stopped to help. "All we could do was try to reassure the dad (who had been helped from the car) that he was OK." David Adams was listed in stable condition Thursday night at Lakeland Regional Medical Center, and Ryan Adams was in fair condition at Tampa General Hospital. The operator of the crane, Thomas Maxwell, 51, of Tampa was treated for injuries at Lakeland Regional Medical Center and released. Police said he was injured when the force of the falling top of the crane caused the cab to snap off from the base of the unit. Lakeland police were investigating. Sgt. Monty Mathis said what caused the crane failure hadn't been determined. "Apparently, the crane and the boom portion broke loose from the tractor part," Mathis said. "It was one of those one-in-a-million things." The crane, which can reach a height of about 60 feet when it is fully extended, was being used in a state Department of Transportation project to improve drainage and resurface a portion of U.S. 98 South. It was on the edge of the southbound lanes and being used to pick up metal sheets that had been used for bracing in holes dug by construction crews. Witnesses said they watched the crane start to wobble, lean to the east over the road and quickly topple into traffic, which was moving slowly because one of the southbound lanes had been closed as part of the roadwork. Aaron Harris, 18, a city parks department worker who was mowing grass across the street at Lake Bonny Park, said some drivers apparently saw the crane sway and tried to get out of the way. "The crane was leaning to the side, and a bunch of cars were swerving," Harris said. "It was wobbling and then just gave in." The Adamses' Dodge was the last of a group of cars that were in the one-lane portion of southbound U.S. 98. Cheek said those cars were hemmed in by concrete slabs on one side and a curbed median on the other. "If you have one lane of traffic, where can you go?" Cheek said. "There was no place." Trevor Taylor, a Miller Bros. worker who was near the crane when it snapped, said the accident occurred in seconds. "Our cranes go through inspections every year," he said. "It was just a fluke accident." Traffic traveling south on U.S. 98 was routed around the accident for more than two hours while workers cleared the area.
Crane breaks in attempt to remove plunge truck
Michael Ng, Angela Kwok, Joyce Li and Edward Chan; 10 July 2001 / 03:29 AM
EFFORTS to remove the wreckage of a fully-loaded garbage truck from the roof of a Happy Valley building failed yesterday when the arm of the crane snapped. The 24-tonne truck, which had plunged 150 metres from Stubbs Road on to the roof of the two-storey building in Village Terrace on Sunday, remained on the roof for a second night as officials mapped out fresh plans to remove it. Two garbage workers were killed and another was injured in the freak accident. Workers are expected to try breaking up the wreckage into smaller pieces before it is lifted by another crane early today. Police planned to close a section of Stubbs Road between 4.30am and 6am today to enable work to be carried out. The clean-up operation came to a halt yesterday when the arm of the crane - capable of lifting loads up to 50 tonnes - bent and snapped as it lifted the truck, sending the wreckage plunging back on to the rooftop. The impact damaged the walls of Blocks 15 and 17 of Village Terrace, which are directly in front of the building on which the wreckage rests. Food and Environmental Hygiene Department workers cleaned up the area and sprayed pesticide after a large amount of rubbish fell from the truck. More than 20 families living in Blocks 13, 15 and 17 were barred from returning to their homes for a second night because of fears for their safety. Only a few were allowed to return when police partially re-opened the buildings in the evening. The two dead men were named as driver Sze Chun-hing, 32, and worker Leung Yuk-chun, 32. To Hing-sum, 21, remained in a stable condition at Queen Mary Hospital. Mr To, a two-way permit holder, had been in Hong Kong for a week, his cousin, who wished to be identified only as Ms Lam, said. ``I do not want to talk about it again,'' mumbled Mr To, when asked about the accident. Ms Lam said her cousin, who suffered a broken right leg and bruising, had been lucky to survive the crash. ``He had been living with us in Wong Tai Sin, but I didn't know he had a job,'' she said. The truck was travelling downhill along Stubbs Road at 7.30am on Sunday when the driver apparently lost control of the vehicle. The truck veered into the opposite lane, crashed through guardrails and plunged down the slope.
Worker missing after falling from crane
MOUNT PLEASANT (AP) - Authorities planned to continue to search the waters of the Wando River for a subcontractor who fell from a crane at the Wando Port Terminal here. Juan Sanchez, 28, of Moncks Corner, fell from a boom into the river Wednesday. Crews dropped a line from the crane arm to determine where he landed. Tides and currents complicated the search, and as the day wore on, divers, helicopters and rescue boats widened the search area. A spokesman for the State Ports Authority says power to other cranes and equipment was shut down in order to prevent it from interfering with sonar being used in the search. The search was suspended about 5 p.m. and was expected to resume early Thursday. Sanchez worked for Palmetto Industrial Services, a subcontractor for Konecranes, a Finland-based crane company, Ports Authority spokesman Byron Miller said. The authority recently hired Konecranes to replace rails on the cranes' arms. Crane operators sit in small cabins that move along these rails as they pick up and lower containers from ships. Sanchez reportedly was wearing a harness when he fell. The accident is under investigation.
UPDATE,Worker's body found in river
Friday, June 1, 2001
After a two-day search involving more than 30 divers, rescue workers found the body of a Moncks Corner contractor who fell off a State Ports Authority crane Wednesday. Divers found the body of Juan Sanchez, 28, Thursday afternoon in the Wando River below the crane from which he fell. Witnesses said Sanchez stepped onto a temporary platform on the crane's arm to do some welding when the platform gave way. He fell about 130 feet into the river. An autopsy will be done today, said Susan Chewning, Charleston County coroner. Sanchez was employed by Palmetto Industrial Construction Co. The SPA set up a fund for his wife and children. Donations can be made at any First Federal branch or sent to First Federal in care of Jeannie Sanchez, P.O. Box 118068, Charleston, S.C. 29423.
Crane Hits Landmark
Building slightly damaged; theater seems OK
Sunday, June 10, 2001, By Luis Perez
A crane fell onto the Landmark Theatre building on West Jefferson Street about 7:50 a.m. Saturday after the sidewalk below it gave way. The crane's supporting jack broke through the sidewalk, causing it to fall onto the building, said Syracuse Deputy Fire Chief George Hart. A load of building materials the crane was lifting to the sixth floor for office renovations fell onto the awning of the Carmelcorn Shop at 116 W. Jefferson St., he said. No one was injured. Several windows on the upper floor broke and concrete chipped from the building, Hart said. There was no apparent damage to the historic Landmark Theatre. The building will be checked for structural damage, Hart said. A second crane was brought in to lift the first crane off the building. Representatives from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Department of Labor were called to the scene.
Crane operator crushed to death at warehouse
By A Sun Staff Writer, Originally published June 19, 2001
A 28-year-old man was crushed to death by a stack of steel rail-car wheels at a warehouse in Cockeysville yesterday morning, according to Baltimore County police. Aitor Dorronsoro, who was operating a crane at the time of the accident, was crushed by at least two steel wheels, or "trucks," when the stack in which they were piled shifted, said police Cpl. Vickie Warehime. Dorronsoro worked for Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, S.A., of Beasain, Spain, which was leasing space from AAI Corp. AAI, in the 100 block of Industry Lane, does overhaul work on light-rail, railroad and subway cars, said spokeswoman Susan Flowers. Police received an emergency call regarding the warehouse accident about 10:45 a.m. yesterday, said Warehime. Dorronsoro was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center where he was pronounced dead, she said. A spokeswoman for Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles' U.S. operations, based in Washington, declined to comment on the accident. Through a secretary, she said she was busy dealing with the victim's family in Spain. Officials at the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health Program could not be reached for comment.
3 hurt in scaffolding fall at a Cambridge work site
By Jennifer Medina, Globe Correspondent, 6/21/2001
CAMBRIDGE - Three construction workers were hurt yesterday, one of them seriously, when they fell from third-floor scaffolding on a parking garage near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, officials said. Also yesterday, next door to the parking garage site, a construction worker suffered a fractured shoulder when a steel beam struck him as it was being lifted with a crane, according to Cambridge fire officials. The workers on the scaffolding fell 40 feet, and cinderblocks they had been laying on the exterior of a six-story building then toppled onto them, said a deputy chief for the Cambridge Fire Department, Michael Morrissey. The workers, whose names were not released, were taken at 11 a.m. to Massachusetts General Hospital, Morrissey said. The workers may have piled too much onto the scaffold, said a construction worker on the job. ''It looks like they just overloaded it,'' said the worker, who did not wish to be identified. Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials are investigating whether the proper amount of weight was placed on the scaffolding, said an OSHA spokesman, John Chavez. The parking garage is one of five buildings in a $750-million construction project near Landsdowne and Pacific streets. Forrest City, a Cleveland-based developer, is leasing 27 acres from MIT to build biotechnology research facilities and a 175-unit housing complex, said company spokesman Jay Kiely. The men were working for the Milton-based D.J. Construction Co., but Julian Crane & Equipment Co. in Watertown owns the scaffolding. Neither company would comment or say who built the scaffolding. D.J. Construction was cited 10 times for safety violations from 1986 to 1994, according to OSHA records. Twelve violations were for scaffolding problems, according to the records. The main contractor on the project, William A. Berry & Son in Danvers, said in a statement yesterday: ''Clearly our main priority is the safety and concern of our employees.'' In 1999, there were four fatal falls from scaffolding in Massachusetts, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This story ran on page B3 of the Boston Globe on 6/21/2001.
Equipment accident damages bridge, I-77
By LORI MONSEWICZ Repository staff writer
CANTON TWP. - An excavating machine fell off the back of a construction truck when its boom struck the Faircrest Street bridge over Interstate 77 on Friday and scooted several feet north, gouging the highway. The fallen equipment caused traffic to be rerouted for more than six hours. Township Fire Capt. Jonathan Smith said the excavator's boom was too high and hit the bridge as the truck it was on drove under the bridge at 2 p.m. Another piece of equipment called a Bobcat also was aboard the truck, owned by Glick Co. of Dalton, but did not fall. No one was hurt. A 40-foot section of the beam supporting the bridge was bent, and gouges were cut into the highway. At least three of six lines running under the bridge were ruptured. Firefighters called utility, telephone and gas company officials to the scene to determine the extent of the damage. An Ohio Department of Transportation representative also called for a state engineer to examine the bridge. A damage estimate to the bridge was not available. Northbound interstate traffic was stopped south of the Faircrest exit, and routed up the exit ramp and down the on-ramp back onto I-77. Traffic over the bridge resumed. Smith estimated that the regular flow of traffic would resume at 8 p.m. Selinsky Crane Co. was called to lift the toppled crane from the highway as the boom was cut from the excavator. Smith said they hoped to load the damaged excavator back onto the truck. Smith said the truck was being followed by two other construction trucks from the same company when the accident occurred. Drivers of those vehicles were able to stop as the excavator hit the highway, and were not injured by the debris. Firefighters estimated the damage to the excavator at $100,000. Stark County sheriff's deputies continued to investigate Friday night.
Tree crashes into crane, killing operator
Seattle Times staff reporters
A man was killed yesterday afternoon when an elm crashed onto the cab of a crane he was operating near Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center in Seattle. Sellen Construction has been clearing the hospital grounds at Northeast 45th Street and 45th Avenue Northeast to make way for a parking garage. Yesterday, workers had been using a crane to move the tree to the edge of the property, Sellen Executive Vice President Scott Redman said. The elm fell on the crane about 3:30 p.m. Two people on the ground were hurt. One was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he was in satisfactory condition last night with head injuries. Medics treated the other for minor injuries, Seattle Fire Department spokeswoman Helen Fitzpatrick said. Henry Brehmeyer, compliance safety supervisor for the state Department of Labor and Industries, said an investigation by his department could take up to three weeks. The crane that had been lifting the tree was run by Sunnen Crane Services of Tacoma. Another crane was called in yesterday evening to lift the fallen tree so rescue workers could reach the operator's body. Dorothy Scholz, who lives in the neighborhood, had been watching efforts to transplant the tree during the past few days. "I was standing here yesterday, and I saw it standing up straight and tall," she said. "I have never seen anybody try to move anything that big."
Welder's spark ignites fire at Milford power plant
MILFORD - More than 100 workers were forced to evacuate the Milford power plant on Bic Drive when a welding procedure sparked a fire inside a wall, fire officials said. Fire Capt. Richard Mohr said no injuries were reported as a result of the blaze, which took firefighters nearly two hours to douse because the flames were inside a wall made of 10-inch-thick steel. Milford Power Co. reported the fire at 11:27 a.m., Mohr said, and more than 10 emergency vehicles and fire trucks were dispatched to the plant, parts of which remain under construction. The power plant was the site of a deadly accident a little more than a year ago, when tons of construction equipment plunged to the ground. Two men were killed and a third man lost his leg after being pinned under debris for nearly eight hours. Mohr said the fire was under control by 1 p.m., but workers were not permitted back into the building until after 3 p.m. "It wasn't a big fire, but they did lose (about) four hours," Mohr said. "All work stopped and everyone was evacuated. There were well over a 100 people." Mohr said dousing the blaze was time consuming because firefighters had to saw through the steel walls to get at the fire. The inside of the plant is a large steel structure, with pipes running through the building. Mohr said the fire started when workers performed some type of welding that produced sparks, which ignited insulation, he said. Mohr said the fire damage to the power plant, in terms of cost, was "minimal." Milford Power Co. officials could not be reached for comment. The earlier accident on Feb. 2, 2000 was blamed on the premature removal of temporary bracing that was securing the structure, thus leaving it vulnerable to collapse, the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration found. Black & Veatch Construction Inc. was fined $7,000. Robert Fitch, 63, of North Branford, the crane operator who lost his leg in the collapse, went back to work a year after the accident. Boilermakers Kevin Winslow of Newington and Wayne Most of West Hartford were killed in the accident.
Bishopville crane operator electrocuted
By Liz Holland, Somerset Herald
PRINCESS ANNE - A 28-year-old Bishopville man was electrocuted Thursday when a crane he was operating touched an overhead power line on Old Princess Anne-Westover Road. Michael Gray was pronounced dead at Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury, despite efforts by two nearby homeowners and Princess Anne Volunteer Fire Company paramedics to revive him. Gray, who worked for White's Construction Co. of Willards, was installing new power lines to buildings owned by Eastern Shore Forest Products when the accident happened. Terry Shreaves and Tomeka Murray, who live near the site, said one of Gray's coworkers ran to their homes for help. Both women called 911 and were directed to administer CPR until an ambulance arrived. Shreaves and Murray, along with two men they believed were employees of the construction company, stayed with Gray until paramedics arrived. Neither woman is trained in CPR, but followed instructions from one of the men, Shreaves said. ''Everybody really should learn (CPR),'' she said. Gray apparently had his hands on the controls of the crane when it touched the power line. The crane was on the back of a truck parked just off the road on the side of a field, and Gray was standing outside the vehicle at the time. Shreaves said a jolt of electricity also ignited the truck's tires. The Somerset County Sheriff's Office blocked off the area until Conectiv Power Delivery workers were able to turn off the power so the truck and crane could be removed from the site.
Crane Crushes Worker to Death; Another Hurt
From Times Staff Reports
A construction worker was crushed to death Wednesday when part of a crane fell on him, authorities said. Raymond Paul Corder, 45, of San Gabriel was declared dead just after 3:15 p.m. at a construction site at Beach Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway. A section of the crane came loose while it was being unloaded from a truck, a Fire Department spokeswoman said. A second worker was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange with internal injuries, she said.
Boy killed at well was working illegally
May 19, 2001, By Matt Joyce -Herald Staff Writer
Workers at a well pad south of the Durango-La Plata County Airport were using a crane to move equipment when a 200-pound metal ball fell and killed a 17-year-old Mexican boy, authorities said Friday. Luis Carlos Sotelo was killed Thursday, probably instantly, when the ball fell 50 feet from a cable and hit him in the head and shoulder, said Lt. Dan Bender of the La Plata County Sheriff's Office. Sotelo was a Mexican citizen working with a New Mexico company, Bender said. "Apparently there was a crane at the well pad for another purpose, and some workers not associated with the crane decided to use it to move a piece of equipment they were working on," Bender said. Sotelo was not wearing a hard hat, said his brother, Jose Sotelo, speaking in a telephone interview from Farmington. "Every day they talk about safety," he said. "What kind of safety is that?" Jose Sotelo said that his brother did not have a green card and was working illegally in the United States. The Immigration and Naturalization Service had not been contacted about the accident, said Scott Weber, acting director of investigations for the Denver district office of the INS. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration will send a compliance officer Monday to investigate the accident, said Megan Champney, the acting director of the Englewood OSHA office. Champney said an unconfirmed report to OSHA identified Luis Carlos Sotelo's employer to be Frank's Field Services, of Bloomfield, N.M. Jose Sotelo also said his brother had been working for Frank's. Frank's Oil Field Services could not be reached for comment Friday. OSHA will issue a report based on the findings of its investigation, Champney said. "As with any OSHA investigation, the companies involved could receive citations if violations of OSHA regulations were found," Champney said. La Plata County Coroner Dick Mullen said an autopsy was being conducted Friday, but the results were not available. A rosary for Luis Carlos Sotelo will be at 7 p.m. Sunday at Brewer Lee and Larkin Funeral Home in Farmington. A funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Farmington.
Worker cut free from crane after machine tips over in quarry
Rescue workers in Robertson County cut an operator free from a crane that overturned in a Springfield quarry yesterday, trapping the victim inside. The victim's identity was not released last night. The operator, an employee of American Limestone Co., is lucky not to have been crushed to death, said Michael Clark, assistant director of Robertson County Emergency Medical Services. ''The patient's very lucky,'' Clark said. ''That's a large piece of equipment.'' Rescue workers found the crane overturned within minutes of the 911 call for help at 2:18 p.m. The crane was in a hole, and the operator's leg was trapped between the steering wheel and a piece of metal. The victim was flown to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and was listed in critical but stable condition last night.
Five hurt in blast from live crane
Five workers were injured yesterday when a crane brushed overhead wires at Cordeaux Dam near Picton. The electrical surge caused the crane's front tires to explode, scattering debris over a large area. The driver, 46, who is believed to have suffered heart complications, and his co-worker, 38, were airlifted to Liverpool Hospital. The contractors, were allowed to leave late yesterday. The other workers - two contractors and a Sydney Catchment Authority employee - were taken to Liverpool Hospital with shrapnel injuries and later released. NRMA Careflight executive director Mr Ian Badham said the crane became "alive" when its jib came close to 33,000-volt power lines at the dam. "While the crane apparently did not touch the lines, electricity arced from the high tension supply to the crane," he said. Ambulance spokesman Mr Jeff Woods said the men were extremely lucky, considering the high voltage of the wires and the widespread damage caused by the blast. A Sydney Catchment Authority spokesman said the dam and nearby picnic area was closed to the public yesterday while WorkCover officers investigated. The authority would also conduct its own investigation. The spokesman said the popular picnic area at Cordeaux Dam had later been reopened.
Man loses arms, but inspires many
By Carolyne Park, Staff Writer
Jesse Sullivan of Dayton, Tenn., may have lost both his arms, but that has not kept him from touching the hearts of many. Five weeks ago Mr. Sullivan, 54, was badly injured when 7,200 volts of electricity passed through his body. Severe tissue damage caused him to have his arms amputated. But family members, doctors and hospital staff said he has remained upbeat and positive, and has been an inspiration to all. Mr. Sullivan said he is just glad to be alive. "I just feel grateful that God spared me," he said. "It should have gone straight through my heart and killed me. I got more left than I ever lost." The accident happened the afternoon of May 9. Mr. Sullivan was working as a lineman for the Electric Power Board in Rhea County. The last thing he remembers before the accident was being in a lineman's bucket on Spence Cemetary Road, Mr. Sullivan said. He had been on the job for 23 years and the work was routine. "I don't remember a thing that happened in the bucket," Mr. Sullivan said. When he awoke his co-workers had pulled him out. "The fella I've worked with for years and years was holding me and telling me not to leave," Mr. Sullivan said. From Rhea County Hospital he was transferred to the burn unit at Erlanger hospital and remained semiconscious for 15 days. Carolyn, his wife of 17 years, has stayed with him throughout the ordeal. She said the first days were the hardest. "For the first five days I thought he would die," she said. Dr. Lesley Wong is the medical director of Erlanger's burn unit and has been treating Mr. Sullivan since he arrived. Electrical burn patients usually have organ damage, but Mr. Sullivan did not, she said. "He's the worst that I've seen in terms of tissue loss," Dr. Wong said, but added "he is almost miraculously lucky that nothing else happened." As far as they know, Mr. Sullivan's heart did not miss a beat, Dr. Wong said. Mr. Sullivan has had seven surgeries and is undergoing physical therapy to help him adapt, Dr. Wong said. In the next week or so he is expected to fly to Chicago to be fitted for specially-designed prosthetic arms. Even with everything he has been through, Mr. Sullivan has remained upbeat, Dr. Wong said. "He's unbelievable," she said. "His attitude is just a tribute to humanity." Tammy Berens, a registered nurse in the burn unit, agrees. "He has been an inspiration to us and so many patients," she said. "He's been amazing, we've all just fallen in love with him. "He told us when he got his prosthetics he would come back and give us all a big hug," she said. Mr. Sullivan speaks highly of those who have cared for him. They're fantastic," he said. "I call them my guardian angels." He attributes his survival to the grace of God. "Most men that take 7200 volts like that are dead," he said. "He left me here for a reason." Mr. Sullivan and his wife have six children and eight grandchildren. Dr. Wong said the strength and support of his family and friends has made treatment easy, and helped in his recovery. Mrs. Sullivan said the accident has not changed her husband. "Jesse is the same man he has always been, but now everybody has the pleasure of meeting him," she said of the many friends the couple have made since the accident. Mr. Sullivan said he and his wife, who he describes as his "rock," plan to take life one day at a time. For now, he is looking forward to getting his prosthetic arms. "I'm going to get to be like Inspector Gadget," he said.
City BLW worker electrocuted while fixing utility pole; Officials unsure of events leading to man's death
By Jeffrey Widmer, Marietta Daily Journal Staff Writer
MARIETTA - A five and a half year employee of the Marietta Board of Lights died after he was electrocuted early Saturday morning as he tried to repair a damaged utility pole on Allgood Road near Cobb Parkway. William Ryan Evans, 24, of Jasper was on a bucket truck attempting to repair the pole at about 5 a.m. when he came into contact with 120 volts of electricity. The incident took place directly in front of Marietta Fire Station No. 6. The pole had been damaged at 5 p.m. Friday in a car accident during heavy rains, said city spokesperson Audrey Griffies. Evans, hired by the city in December 1995 as a member of the tree trimming crew, received medical attention from his co-workers and firefighters at Station No. 6 before being transported to WellStar Kennestone Hospital, where he died. Ms. Griffies said no one is exactly sure how the incident occurred. A safety investigation team from the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG), which investigates such incidents, has completed its study of the incident and a report will be made available to the public Monday afternoon, she said. “We're not sure how it happened right now,” Ms. Griffies said. Evans, who was married with a 5-month-old baby, was a tree trimmer for several years before being promoted to an apprentice line worker in 1998. He was a junior line worker when the incident took place. O.D. Reynolds, Marietta Board of Lights and Water manager, expressed sadness at the loss of Evans. “All of us are devastated,” Reynolds said. “Ryan was a fine young man ... most of us were not here the last time we had a fatal accident, and this is going to hit the BLW family hard. Our thoughts and prayers are with Ryan's family.” Saturday's incident is the first fatal accident involving the BLW since the summer of 1980. That incident occurred at a construction site off Kennesaw Avenue, when a worker was electrocuted and killed while working on a buried power line. Ambulance crews had trouble finding the location of the 1980 incident because at that time, there were no street names at construction sites. Ironically, the mayor and council ordered the city fire department to get into the rescue business as a result, said Phil Chovan, former deputy chief for the fire department.
Lineman stable after receiving 7,200-volt shock
By John J. Archibald, of the Northwestern
WINCHESTER A Wisconsin Electric Power Company lineman is in stable condition and headed to a Madison hospital after 7,200 volts shocked him on a town of Winchester line. The accident occurred about 1:30 p.m. Friday on Sauby Road just south of the Meyer Lane intersection. Linemen with bucket trucks had worked to restore power lost in Monday nights storm when the man touched a conductor. A resident of the area, Vernadine Knaack said her husband, Charles, saw the accident scene. They were bringing him (the lineman) down in the bucket and he was slumped over the bucket, she said. A ThedaStar helicopter landed in an oat field and flew the lineman to Theda Clark Medical Center, where he was listed as stable, said Chris Iglar, Wisconsin Electric spokesman. Since then, hes been transferred to University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison, Iglar said. A Wisconsin Electric Power Company man who didnt identify himself said repairs at the site had closed for the rest of the day after the accident. The location is a few miles west of the intersections of highways 110 and 150, about 12 miles northwest of Oshkosh city limits.
Cable worker dead after fall from bucket truck A 42-year-old television cable lineman fell to his death Wednesday while he was working atop a bucket truck in Warren. Bryan Bohnsack, Warren Chief of Police said that the lineman, a resident of Fulton, about 10 a.m. fell approximately 20 feet from the raised bucket at the intersection of Galena Ave. and Bellevue St., on Warren's east side. WARREN - "The victim's name is being withheld pending notification of his family," Bohnsack said. "He has a Fulton residence address, but many of his family live out of state." Jo Daviess County Coroner, Bill Miller, pronounced the worker dead at the scene. "The investigation is still in the initial stages," Bohnsack said. "An unconfirmed report by a witness to the accident said the bucket apparently was moving when it struck an overhead telephone wire, knocking the victim out of the bucket." It has not been determined if a safety harness was in place. A second lineman was believed to be in the bucket at the time of the accident, but was not injured. The workers are employed by cable television provider, Mediacom, Inc., of Chillicothe. Assisting the Warren Police Department were the Jo Daviess County Sheriff's office, the Warren Ambulance and Fire Department, the Illinois State Police Crime Scene, and Leamon's Ambulance. "The Illinois State Police technicians are routinely called in to take accurate photos and a description of the accident scene," Bohnsack said. "There was no evidence of foul play." The investigation of the accident is continuing, and the name of the victim and further details will be released Thursday morning by Coroner Miller.
