The worker killed in last night's massive crane collapse at the 7 train extension site has been identified. After making sure his family was notified, the NYPD identified the worker as Michael Simmermeyer, 30, from Burlington, New Jersey. He was pronounced DOA at Bellevue Hospital. Another worker whose leg was injured was also taken to Bellevue—he's listed in stable condition. Two other workers sustained minor injuries.
The other victims were a crane operator, a flag man and a relative of one of the victims, according to the NY Times. It's still not known what caused the collapse of the 170-foot-high crane, but an unidentified MTA official tells the paper, "They’re looking at some kind of failure in the rear of the crane." One worker at Bellevue said it came down "like a dinosaur." And a retired NYPD detective at the scene said, "The top part of the crane was lying on the upper part of the construction project. Something cracked that steel arm."
According to the AP, the crane was set up on the second of three levels on the construction site on Manhattan's West Side. The injured workers were down in a 60-foot pit, which made the rescue operation especially precarious. One worker told the AP it was "extremely dangerous" trying to get the victims out, because "we had construction material that wasn't stable." On the sidewalk, one construction worker collapsed in tears into the arms of another worker, and the AP reports another could be heard saying: "I can't take it."
