Investigators Eye Giant Mobile Crane’s Counterweight in Deadly Collapse
Investigators haven’t said what caused a July 19 crane collapse that killed four workers and injured seven others in Houston. Initial reports point to the machine’s counterweights as a possible source of one of the deadliest U.S. crane accidents in the past decade.
The accident occurred at a Houston refinery owned by Netherlands-based LyondellBasell. A custom-built, VersaCrane TC-36000, equipped with a back mast and 420 ft of main lattice boom, snapped at its base and crashed into a smaller crane before hitting the ground. Killed were operators Marion “Scooter” Hubert Odom III, 41, and John D. Henry, 33; as well as ironworkers Daniel “DJ” Lee Johnson, 30 and Rocky Dale Strength, 30. All worked for Baton Rouge, La.-based Deep South Crane & Rigging, the crane supplier. Two workers remain hospitalized.