Crane topples onto car and construction box in Miami, four hurt

A crane collapsed in Miami on Monday, striking a car and a construction box and leaving four people with minor injuries, the city's fire chief said.

The driver of a BMW was heading south on Brickell Bay Drive when she saw the crane coming down in front of her, fire chief Robert Hevia said. She managed to back her car up just enough to get out before the crane landed on the vehicle, which then caught fire.

About 50 personnel and 20 units from the fire department responded to the vehicle fire and found that the crane had fallen onto a construction box with two workers, aged 27 and 29, trapped inside. Crews tackled the fire while a technical rescue team cut through the box to free them.

The crane operator, a 47-year-old man, jumped from the crane as it tipped over, Hevia said. He and the two construction workers were taken to Ryder Trauma Center with minor injuries. The driver was taken to Mercy Hospital, also with minor injuries.

Eighteen construction workers at the scene were all accounted for, and no one was inside the parked cars that were hit, the chief said.

Hevia described the scene as complex, with a fire burning as rescuers worked to reach the trapped men. He said that in 28 years with the department, the outcome stood out: four victims, all either freed by rescuers or able to get themselves out, and none seriously hurt.