FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The attorneys of a woman involved in a crane collapse that occurred earlier this month on Interstate 95 in Fort Lauderdale are holding a news conference Friday.
Gemmalyn Castillo was identified by her lawyers as the victim who will be represented in the case.
Several questions remain unanswered following the deadly crane collapse on April 4.
A worker, who officials identified as 47-year-old Joseph Bienaime, died of his injuries from the collapse later that night.
A second injured worker was released from the hospital the following day.
The workers were in a boom lift along the southbound lanes of the highway, near Broward Boulevard, and fell roughly 30 feet down to the highway after a crane, on unstable ground, lost a piling it was maneuvering and struck the bucket truck, causing it to crash down onto the pavement.
Officials have said that the crane itself didn’t fail, but instead it was the platform holding equipment that fell onto the bridge below at Southeast 3rd Avenue.
At the center of the construction nightmare is KAST Construction LLC.
OSHA has opened up an investigation into the collapse.
Local 10 News learned that there have been three OSHA inspections over the last year for KAST Construction.
One happened in Sarasota in February of 2023, where employees were exposed to a 129-foot fall hazard. The fine was ultimately $9,844.
In June of 2023 at a Tampa site, “each employee… was not protected from falling by the use of guardrails” and “employees were exposed to fall hazards of approximately 8 feet.” KAST was hit with a $15,625 fine.
Local 10 viewers can watch the news conference, which is expected to start at noon on the video at the top of the page.