Crane Collapses While Lifting Precast Wall, Killing Worker In The Woodlands, Texas

KTRK TV Report

Chopper Footage

Reporter: Demond Fernandez

Crews worked all afternoon to lift the large crane from its side. The operator had been trapped in the machine’s cab for several hours.

It’s a disturbing image of a crane toppled over that had a group of worried spectators watching and waiting several hours for help at a construction site near The Woodlands.

Sgt. Joe Smart with the Conroe Police Department said, “It looks like it pinned the cab where the operator sits under the weight of the crane.”

Emergency workers who rushed to the scene couldn’t immediately rescue the crane operator, who has been identified as Luis Ruiz. Police say the man was among a group of contractors on this site rebuilding the Garden Ridge that burned down last year.

Deena Nicholson of The Woodlands said, “It’s really, really sad. It just seems like help is taking so long.”

Eyewitnesses told police something just went wrong.

“It looks like he was lifting one of these concrete walls to begin construction of this building, and I’m told it was the first wall of the new building,” said Sgt. Smart.

The crane operator was trapped inside the cab for nearly five hours before help finally arrived. Police say they were waiting for large trucks and heavy equipment to lift the machine. As for the crane operator, sadly investigators say this accident appears to be tragic.

Family members tell me the operator’s been in construction for about 40 years. They call him a devoted husband and father.

OSHA Investigators were headed to the scene to investigate.

Source: KTRK

OSHA Information
Compliance Assistance

• Fact Sheets
  • Cranes and Derricks in Construction: Final Rule. Significant changes, requirements, and benefits for the new rule.
  • Cranes and Derricks in Construction: Assembly and Disassembly, Subpart CC (132 KB PDF, 2 pages)
  • Cranes and Derricks in Construction: Operator Qualification and Certification, Subpart CC (132 KB PDF, 2 pages)
  • Cranes and Derricks in Construction: Signal Person Qualification, Subpart CC (42 KB PDF, 1 page)
  • Cranes and Derricks in Construction: Qualified Rigger, Subpart CC (45 KB PDF, 1 page)
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Small Entity Compliance Guide
  • Cranes and Derricks in Construction – Small Entity Compliance Guide for the Final Rule (OSHA 3433 – 2011) (English: 402 KB PDF, 90 pages)

Final Rule

• Federal Register. The Office of the Federal Register published the final rule on August 9, 2010. The effective date of the final rule is 90 days after the date of publication.
• Regulatory Text Only. OSHA. View the new construction standards for cranes and derricks regulatory text.

Media

• News Release, July 28. US Department of Labor‘s OSHA publishes final rule on cranes and derricks in construction
• OSHA Cranes & Derricks Subpart CC [1 MB PPT^*, 62 slides]
• AGC Cranes and Derricks Webinar A 60 minute PowerPoint presentation with voiceover and question and answers.

Stakeholder Outreach

• Webchat, July 28 3-4pm EDT. View the Archived Webchat.