Two final court dates have been set for mid-April in the negligent homicide trial of James F. Lomma, the owner of the Kodiak tower crane whose fatal collapse killed two workers in Manhattan nearly four years ago. For more than a month, the owner of the equipment rental firm has been the focus of charges that say he was responsible for the 2008 deaths of union crane operator Donald Leo and sewer worker Ramadan Kurtaj.
With the prosecution resting its case, Lomma's attorneys began calling as witnesses in late March two crane forensic engineering experts employed by Haag Engineering. The defense has argued that forensic evidence shows the way the crane collapsed contradicts prosecutors' theories of the case. According to its website, the Irving, Texas, firm operates a "state-of-the-art research/testing laboratory that specializes in materials testing."