FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A crane struck a bucket truck on Interstate 95 in Fort Lauderdale Monday morning, injuring two workers and shutting down the southbound lanes of the highway.
The collapse happened between Sunrise Boulevard and Broward Boulevard, close to the Broward Boulevard offramp.
Officials closed the highway at the Sunrise Boulevard exit.
“There was a crane that was on unstable ground, (that) 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,” Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Stephen Gollan said.
According to FLFR, one of the two workers is in critical condition while the other was “stable” as of Monday afternoon.
Medics took the workers to Broward Health Medical Center.
Firefighters remained concerned about the crane’s stability following the incident.
“It’s still on unstable ground and we have concerns that it may fall onto I-95, so we have our technical rescue team and multiple crane companies, including Westway Towing, working to stabilize that crane so that we can get it on solid ground,” Gollan said. “Once we get that crane onto solid ground, then we’ll be able to remove the debris from I-95, check for any additional safety concerns and reopen I-95.”
Southbound Interstate 95 had been expected to reopen at around 2 or 3 p.m., but officials later extended the estimate into the evening rush hour, saying necessary equipment to remove the crane hadn’t arrived as of Monday afternoon.
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