FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla – Newly released video is showing just what happened on the ground the moment multiple vehicles were hit by a crane that suddenly collapsed onto a busy South Florida roadway, and how officers worked to get the bridge clear and victims the help they needed.
It happened on April 4 in the heart of downtown Fort Lauderdale.
Body camera video shows the moments officers first responded to the catastrophic construction failure on the Southeast Third Avenue Bridge, not knowing at the time what just happened and if anyone was hurt.
As officers were seen trying to clear the roadway in the midst of rush hour traffic, they discovered driver Carol Zinser, who was seen remarkably getting out of her car that was destroyed by the crane.
While some were unscathed from the impact, others like Gemmalyn Castillo were not.
She was in the back seat of a Tesla first struck by the crane.
She’s seen in the video holding a shirt to her face after suffering a serious injury to her head -- an injury her attorneys say she’ll likely have to live with for the rest of her life.
“While she wants to get back to work, she has been diagnosed with brain damage, she has been diagnosed with spine damage, so it is not good,” said attorney Brett Rosen.
Sadly, 27-year-old construction worker Jorge De La Torre lost his life. Afterward, his co-workers could be heard describing to officers how he fell to his death when the crane gave way.
OSHA continues to investigate just what caused that crane to collapse.
As for the victims in this case, Local 10 News has learned several lawsuits have been filed against the construction companies working at the time.