Just when you thought too many crane accidents have been happening recently, here comes another workplace incident making it to the headlines. This time, the site was a pump station in Dallas, Texas.
The Crane Puzzle
Last Thursday morning, a crane lowering a 9-ton pipe toppled, injuring two workers at Old Hampton Pump Station in West Dallas. The first victim was inside a work vehicle and injured his head when the pipe crashed into the vehicle roof. The second victim was on the roof of the building whose legs and ankles were injured by the crane itself.
The two injured men were immediately transported to Parkland Memorial Hospital. Dallas Fire-Rescue Sherrie Lopez said it was fortunate that the incident didn’t cause more injuries. Besides the two injured, five people were on the scene at the time of the accident. Two other workers were on the ground and three people were in the station.
Lopez said the workers were installing a piece of a pump when the crane and the pipe both fell.
Investigators are still in the process of investigating the main cause of the accident. “We’re trying to put together the pieces of what happened,“ Lopez said.
Tragedies with Cranes in Texas
This isn’t the first time tragedy struck Texas with a serious crane incident. Just this June, a 37-year-old construction worker died in Dallas after getting struck by a hook that snapped off a crane. That same week, three construction workers were injured when a crane cable snapped at the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium in Arlington.
In July, Houston became the site of another accident as a heavy crane toppled, killing four people and injuring seven workers.
Helpful Links:
- Crane Safety
- Crane Safety: Where Are We Going Wrong?
- OSHA Responds to Crane Accidents
- When Cranes Crumble
- New York Crane Collapse
