07.03.2007

Another day another crane

A man was injured yesterday in Martinsville Virginia when he was hit in the head by a Rough Terrain crane as it toppled over on a building site.

Ronnie Grubb, 32, was working on a slope on the site while David Harr, a general contractor and owner of the house that was being built, was operating the crane.

As the crane began to tip Harr gave a warning with the horn, but Grubb, a friend, tripped over some fertilizer bags as he ran out of the way. The boom of the crane apparently hit him in the back of the head.
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The outriggers on this unit had only been extended on one side

It is clear from the picture that the outriggers on the P&H Omega 20 had only been extended on one side and as Harr slewed over the side with the retracted outriggers the crane went over.

Virginia State Trooper B.E.Lane, said “it was apparent that the crane fell because the extenders on one side were not fully extended, allowing it to tip”

Grubb was still unconscious when airlifted to hospital, and his condition has not been reported.