A crawler piling rig tipped over at a Miami construction site, causing a fiery, chaotic scene September 14, with three cars crushed and four people injured.
At about 8 a.m., the rig tipped over. The operator jumped out as it was falling, according to Miami Fire Chief Robert Hevia.
A woman driving a white BMW SUV saw the rig falling right in front of her and slammed into reverse. The rig crashed into the front of the SUV. The SUV caught on fire, and she was able to scramble out the back of the vehicle, Hevia told reporters during a news conference.
“To be able to see the crane falling, pull the car in reverse and pop out of the back while the car is on fire,” Hevia said, “really incredible.”
The woman had only minor injuries and was taken to the hospital.
“Count your blessings,” the chief said he told the woman. “God was looking out for you today.”
Two workers inside a metal shipping container converted to an onsite office on the construction site were also fortunate, Hevia reported. The rig’s bit section crushed the box, nearly flattening it. The workers, ages 27 and 29, had to be extricated from the metal shed with cutting tools by rescuers and were taken to a trauma center with minor injuries.
Powered by“The fact that we were able to cut them out and extricate them with minor injuries is remarkable,” Hevia said.
The 47-year-old operator who jumped from the rig as it was falling suffered minor injuries to lower extremities and was also taken to the trauma center.
The 50 Miami Fire Rescue responders faced a complex scene when they arrived. They had to extinguish the SUV fire, save the workers trapped in the storage box and attend to the rig operator. The crane also landed on two other parked vehicles that were unoccupied as it fell across Brickell Bay Drive near Southeast 12th Street.
All 18 workers on the construction site were accounted for. No other injuries were reported.
There was no further comment on what might have caused the tip-over.
The rig was working at the site of a future skyscraper headquarters for hedge fund Citadel LLC in the Brickell neighborhood, according to NBC6.
The U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration plans to investigate the incident.
