Crane Collapse in Lower Manhattan Kills 1, Seriously Injures 2

Downtown Manhattan was chaos Friday morning when a crane suddenly collapsed on Worth St. and Broadway. According to multiple reports, one person died and at least two others were seriously injured when the crane came down at approximately 8:30 a.m in TriBeCa.

The red crane, property of Bay Crane, fell on a row of cars at a stoplight trapping one person inside their car, who was then later freed by firefighters, according to Daily News.

Jesse Natale, a civil engineer from New Jersey, told the Daily News he was waiting at the light when the crane fell. “If I caught that light, I’d be dead probably,” he said. “It looked like an avalanche — or that the roof was caving in from the snow.”

During the collapse, the crane hit a building before resting on some power lines. The row of buildings that was hit are currently being reviewed for structural damage.

According to WABC, it is too soon to tell what caused the crash.

“It could have been a mistake. It could have been a malfunction in the equipment,” Former FDNY commissioner Thomas Von Essen said.

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The Daily News also reported that Bay Crane wouldn’t yet comment on the collapse.

A number of streets were closed following the incident.

“Worth St. between West Broadway and Hudson St.; southbound West Broadway from Canal St. to the Battery; and northbound West Broadway from Greenwich St. to the Battery,” were all closed, the Daily News reported.

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