Oliver James Montgomery:Federal investigation begins of fatal Florida crane collapse; bridge reopens

2025-05-07 15:14:30source:EchoSense Quantitative Think Tank Centercategory:Invest

FORT LAUDERDALE,Oliver James Montgomery Fla. (AP) — Federal job safety officials began their investigation Friday into the collapse of a crane in downtown Fort Lauderdale that killed one worker, injured three people and left morning traffic snarled.

Investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will try to determine what caused Thursday afternoon’s collapse that crushed two cars on a busy bridge that crosses the New River adjacent to the Broward County Courthouse.

The bridge reopened after rush hour Friday. A courthouse spokesperson said operations were not affected.

Mark Cerezin, the driver of one of the crushed cars, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that he felt something was wrong and slammed on his brakes. Then a “big, huge, massive piece of blue steel” struck his car, bounced off the bridge and onto the other car. He got out of his car “in a state of shock.”

“I’m just grateful to be able to go home to my wife and to my friends,” he told the newspaper.

Fort Lauderdale Police identified the killed worker as Jorge De La Torre, 27. Police said he had been working on the building that is under construction when the collapsing crane caused him to fall.

READ MORE Biden tours collapsed Baltimore bridge where recovery effort has political overtonesWhat we know about the Baltimore bridge collapse as Biden visits and the cleanup beginsEngineers clearing collapsed Baltimore bridge say limited-access channel to port to open in 4 weeks

One injured person was hospitalized, while one was released. The third person was treated at the scene.

OSHA said Phoenix Rigging & Erecting, Kast Construction and Maxim Crane Works are the companies under investigation. Phoenix Rigging declined comment, citing the ongoing investigation. Kast and Maxim did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.

More:Invest

Recommend

Sister Wives Star Kody Brown Reveals Daughter Asked Why He Didn't Like Her

Now that Kody Brownhas officially divided himself from three of his former brides, the Sister Wivess

Why your bad boss will probably lose the remote-work wars

My good friend has a bad boss (for obvious reasons, my friend asked me to keep both of them anonymou

The Experiment Aiming To Keep Drug Users Alive By Helping Them Get High More Safely

As record numbers of people in the U.S. die from drug overdoses, communities are searching for tools