2 People Killed, 5 Injured in Miami Construction Crane Collapse

By Aaron Poehler

Published on March 26, 2008

The collapse occurred about 1:45 p.m. as workers for subcontractor Morrow Crane attempted to lengthen the crane’s arm in order to extend its reach. The 20-foot-long crane section crashed through the roof of a nearby home being used by contractors as an office and storage space. Several workers were trapped in the house under the metal crane arm and the rubble caused by the impact. A police spokesman noted that the two-story home had been made famous as “the Mary house,” due to its appearance as the home of Cameron Diaz’s character in the 1998 film "There’s Something About Mary."

Police spokesmen named the dead as Terrance Hennessy, 59, a safety inspector for an insurance company; and Jeremy Thornsbury, 21, of Tamarac. Thornsbury was a construction worker with Bovis Lend Lease Holdings Inc., which was managing the construction at the time of the accident.

The cause of the collapse has not yet been determined, though a Bovis Lend spokesman indicated that the company is complying fully with investigators.

The Miami accident comes on the heels of a New York City crane collapse that left seven dead and has prompted nationwide calls for more stringent regulations over construction crane operation. Florida currently neither licenses nor regulates cranes.

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