[SCENE VIDEO] Crane Collision at Austin Site

Oct. 2, 2020

Two cranes collided on an Austin, Texas, construction site, causing dozens of people beneath them to flee the scene. 

“It sounded like pipes falling. It was a loud crash; it made me turn,” Said Diane Stewart, who lives in an apartment near the worksite. 

According to a report by American-Statesman News Network, when medics arrived, they tended to 22 people, with 16 being taken to the hospital. None of the injuries were considered life threatening. Rescuers did not make immediately clear whether all people injured were construction workers. 

Austin Fire Battalion Chief Mark Bridges said the accident occurred when wires of the two cranes became tangled. A piece of one of them also broke off during the collision. 

An operator was still in one of the cranes when officials spoke to reporters, though Bridges said the operator was not in danger. Construction workers at the scene told American-Statesmen their managers would handle media inquiries. Officials have not returned requests for comment.

According to the article, the two cranes were on a construction site in the western half of the Mueller neighborhood.