Two Die in Miami Tower Crane Crash

March 26, 2008 • Two people were killed and four were injured when a 20-foot section of a tower crane being jumped Tuesday at a high-rise condo construction site in Miami, Fla., plummeted 30 floors into the roof of a two-story home being used for construction-related storage. It was the second deadly tower-crane accident in 10 days.

Insurance company Safety Inspector Terrance Hennessy, 59, died at the scene, according to news reports by The Miami Herald. Crew member Jeremy Thornsbury, 21, died at a hospital. Bovis Lend Lease is project manager; Morrow Equipment serves as a subcontractor on the 46-story Paramount Bay condo project. OSHA investigators were at the site today, along with a crane expert called in to help with the investigation.

 

On March 15, six construction workers and a woman visiting New York City for St. Patrick's Day were killed when a tower crane toppled at an apartment tower construction site in New York. Some 24 people were injured, according to news reports, including 11 first-responders, and six buildings were damaged or destroyed as the crane traveled end over end.

 

The Miami-Dade County Commission passed a measure calling for county oversight of cranes and their operators on March 18. The unanimous vote by the Florida board counters the efforts by the Florida Crane Owners Council and other groups that have been working toward creating a uniform statewide certification process. The ordinance also has many in the industry concerned about the possibility of differing county crane regulations throughout the state.