FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida highway has reopened after being shut down for several hours due to a construction incident that resulted in two men being rushed to the hospital.
On Monday morning, Fort Lauderdale Police arrived at the scene near Interstate 95, just north of Broward Boulevard.
At around 10 p.m., equipment was used by crews to remove the crane and debris from the roadway.
7Skyforce hovered over the scene where a bucket truck toppled as well as a concrete light pole.
According to Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, a crane was lifting some heavy equipment when it somehow shifted and struck a cherry picker. Two men were in a basket that toppled over and landed on the highway.
“Upon arrival, our crews had reported that there was a crane that was on unstable ground, had lost the piling that it was maneuvering at the time, causing a bucket truck with two individuals that were approximately 30 feet in the air to fall onto I-95,” said Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Chief Stephen Gollan.
The crane had been using a pile driver to place a concrete piling into the ground.
For some reason, it had shifted and caused the piling to fall onto an orange bucket with two workers inside.
The workers fell onto the southbound lanes of the intersection.
“Both of the males who were in the bucket truck were trauma alerts and in serious condition to Broward Health and are currently being seen by doctors,” said Gollan.
While en route to the hospital with one of the victims, a rescue truck was involved in a crash involving a Fort Lauderdale police officer on the Davie Boulevard overpass.
Three paramedics and one police officer were also transported to the hospital with minor injuries.
Traffic traveling southbound was shut down due to concerns that the crane was unstable and could collapse. Officials expected the closure to last several hours.
“The crane is still on unstable ground, and we still have concerns that it may fall onto I-95,” said Gollan.
The CSX tracks just west of the incident were also shut down, but have since reopened.
Tri-Rail services were not operating in the area as crews worked to stabilize the crane.
“We’re expecting approximately another two and a half hours for reopening southbound I-95,” said Florida Highway Patrol trooper Yanko Reyes.
“The community’s safety is always number one priority and make sure no one else is injured while we try to stabilize this incident,” said Gollan.
One of the workers is out of surgery and is in critical condition.
The other worker is in stable condition.
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