25.07.2008

Crane catches observer

A 79 year old man, Winford Stafford, was watching a crane lift a steeple into place on a new church in South Oklahoma City from his car yesterday when the cranes boom came crashing down on his car, killing him.

The crane had lifted the steeple and had left it suspended just three to four metres off the ground when it started to tip.
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The crane after the boom had been 'lifted' off of the car

While Stafford was killed instantly his wife, who was sitting in the back seat of the car, was taken to hospital, where she was reported to be in relatively good condition.

The crane, a Grove truck mounted unit belonging to the local branch of Barnhart crane and rigging of Memphis, tipped over with no immediately apparent reason. It had round 24 metres or so of boom extended when it went over.

A telescopic handler was put to work to lift, or rather bend, the boom off of the car and then propped with heavy duty wood packing pieces in order to rescue the occupants of the car.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the state Labor Department are investigating.