MIAMI – A construction worker was injured Wednesday in a fall from a crane on the Dolphin Expressway.
The accident occurred Wednesday morning at the Northwest 37th Avenue overpass.
A Miami Department of Fire-Rescue spokesman said the worker fell 30 feet to the ground from a crane affixed to a flatbed truck on the expressway.
The worker was operating the crane from controls on the side of the truck when it tipped over, sending him off the overpass. He landed on the pavement below, narrowly avoiding moving vehicles along Northwest 37th Avenue.
"As you can see where he fell as a result of this incident, if it was just a few feet more, he would've fell into the street and could've been hit by a car, and this would not have had a happy ending," Miami Fire Rescue Capt. Ignatius Carroll said.
The man was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center in critical condition.
Sky 10 was overhead as a Midasco flatbed truck with a crane was tilted on its side.
"Everybody uses that roadway," Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Joe Sanchez said. "Thank God when it flipped and came onto 42nd Avenue there was no car traveling at that exact location. So therefore, this could've been much worse."
Miami-Dade Transit is in the midst of a construction project to add a lane to both directions of the Dolphin Expressway.
Northwest 37th Avenue was closed in both directions beneath the Dolphin Expressway while the truck remained on its side.