Crane Accident in Houston is Area's Second Within Four Days

By Aaron Poehler

Published on July 22, 2008

A 150-ton crane fell over in Houston Monday while operators were attempting to remove a sign marking the entrance to Kingwood planned community.

The crane, owned by Houston's Crane Rental Division Inc., reportedly fell over when the sign twisted due to strong winds and pulled the crane after it. No injuries were reported to have resulted from the incident.

The crane collapse follows closely on the heels of a disaster Friday in which the nation's largest mobile crane collapsed at a Houston oil refinery, striking a second, smaller crane and killing four contract workers.

In 2005 and 2006 Texas led the nation in crane-related fatalities, with a total of 26. Crane regulation in the United States varies widely depending on city and state; in Texas, cranes are unregulated by state or local laws and are only subject to federal guidelines.

Crane safety has been in the public eye this year due to fatal crane collapses in locations such as New York City, Miami, and Las Vegas. Also Monday, New York City crane inspector Michael Carbone resigned from the city's Buildings Department. Carbone had been suspended without pay in June after inspectors identified him as having neglected his duty and failing to take action on complaints of corruption related to crane operations.

 

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