Four people sustained injuries on Monday morning when a heavy construction crane toppled onto a moving vehicle in an upscale Miami neighborhood, setting it on fire, according to city officials.
The collapse occurred shortly after 8 a.m. in Miami's Brickell neighborhood.
Miami Fire Chief Robert Hevia expressed gratitude that no one was killed in the collapse or the resulting blaze during a press conference Monday afternoon.
"I’ve been on the fire department for 28 years; when you see the scene, it’s impressive," Hevia said. "The fact that we had four victims, and they were all able to be extricated or self-extricate themselves with minor injuries is a remarkable day for them."
Hevia explained that a female motorist driving on a street alongside the construction site noticed the crane starting to fall.
"To be able to see the crane falling, put the car in reverse and pop out of the back while the car’s on fire, really incredible," he said, adding that the falling apparatus also flattened two unoccupied parked cars and struck a storage container with two construction workers inside.
The two workers who were trapped, alongside the crane operator who jumped to safety as the machine tipped over, were brought to a local trauma center with minor injuries, Hevia noted.
The woman driving the vehicle also suffered minor injuries and was taken to another hospital. Officials have not identified any of those injured.
"It was a very complex scene with a fire that was occurring; our crews were putting out the fire and our technical rescue team working simultaneously to cut through the conex box, the construction box, and they were able to successfully extricate the two victims," Hevia said, confirming that all other workers on site were accounted for.
Officials have not yet stated what caused the crane, specifically a piling rig, to tip over, and Hevia noted the collapse is currently under investigation. A piling rig generally shares a similar base with a traditional crane, but its upper component is configured to drive structural columns deep into the ground.
