A construction worker was killed and three other people were injured after part of a crane fell onto a bridge in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Thursday. The piece also crushed two cars.
Workers were adding more sections to the crane to make it taller, a process known as stepping, when the accident occurred, Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue posted on Facebook.
Fire officials included a picture of the crane’s section and the two cars.
The crane itself did not fail, officials said.
Instead, a platform on the side of a building collapsed, sending the crane section, equipment and the deceased construction worker plummeting to the Southeast Third Avenue bridge, FLFR Chief Stephen Gollan said, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Witness Mark Cerezin was driving on the bridge when he felt something coming.
“I was driving and I felt a compression, and I looked up and I saw the blue structure coming down, and I slammed on my brakes. It sheared off the front of my Tesla, and all the airbags went off. I’m very lucky to be alive,” Mr. Cerezin told Miami NBC affiliate WTVJ.
Mr. Cerezin’s Tesla is in the photos of the aftermath posted by fire officials.
The deceased was identified by the Fort Lauderdale Police Department as Jorge De La Torre, 27.
Two other people, unnamed by authorities, were transported to a hospital with unspecified injuries, FLFR said in its Facebook post. Authorities didn’t say whether they were in the car that was crushed.
A third person was injured but didn’t need to go to the hospital, Chief Gollan said.
Police identified the three people injured as Gemmalyn Castillo, 37, Gregory Garcia, 43, and Carol Zinser, 69, according to WTVJ. Police didn’t say which of the three were hospitalized.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating Kast Construction, Maxim Crane Works, Phoenix Rigging & Erecting and Maxim Crane Works in relation to the incident, the Sun Sentinel reported.
The bridge was reopened Friday.