Construction Fatalities
Fatal Orlando Mobile Crane Collapse Under Investigation
The crane toppled Oct. 3 while placing panels for a noise wall as part of a Florida highway widening project.
Photo courtesy Orange County Fire and Rescue
One worker was killed and another injured Oct. 3 when a mobile crane toppled while working on a highway widening project in Orlando, Fla. The Orange County Sheriff's Office confirms that the Occupational Health and Safety Administration is investigating the incident.
Local news media reported the crane fell on top of the two workers. When it toppled, the crane was installing one of seven noise wall panels as part of the SR 417 Corridor Capacity Improvements Project, which is expanding the roadway from four to six lanes for more than four miles, says Brian Hutchings, manager of community engagement for the Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX).
Photos from the mishap show the crane toppled on its side, away from the highway and into the parking lot of an adjacent apartment complex, damaging a car as well.
The incident occurred along segment one of the five-segment, $470.5-million expansion project, near the intersection of SR 417 and John Young Parkway. Work on the $87.4-million segment one began in 2021 and is expected to be done this fall. The entire project passed its halfway point earlier this year, Hutchings says.
Orange County Fire and Rescue responded to an industrial accident involving an overturned crane, with one patient extricated and transported to HCA Osceola Regional Hospital, while another was transported to AdventHealth Kissimmee with minor injuries, according to Ashley Gipson, a spokesperson for Orange County Fire and Rescue.
Hubbard Construction Co., of Orlando, is the primary contractor for the project. Greg Gledhill, general counsel for Hubbard, says the accident involved a subcontractor and not a Hubbard employee.
Concrete Impressions is Hubbard’s subcontractor, he says, and local news outlets have reported that the crane belonged to Adcock Cranes. Adcock Cranes declined to comment on the incident, and Concrete Impressions did not immediately respond to a request for information Oct. 4.
