SEATTLE, WASHINGTON — On April 27, 2019, at approximately 3:28 p.m. Pacific Time, a construction crane working on a Google office building in Seattle, Washington, collapsed onto Mercer Street, killing four people and injuring four others. The crane, which was being dismantled, fell across the street and its median, crushing six cars near the Fairview Avenue intersection. It also damaged the building’s roof and eastern facade. Two of the four victims were ironworkers, while the others, a college student and a former city administrator, were in vehicles on the street.
The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries began an investigation into the incident, with cooperation from developer Vulcan, Inc., the City of Seattle, and general contractor GLY Construction. The collapse’s cause was initially unknown, although outside investigators had speculated that the improper removal of pins and bolts during disassembly was a potential cause. Mercer Street remained shut down for the weekend and re-opened on Monday morning, following removal of the crane and debris to a nearby lot.
The preliminary findings from the Washington Department of Labor and Industries were released in October 2019. Their investigation found that the collapse was caused by the premature removal of more than 50 pins between the tower crane sections. Some of those pins can be seen in this video.
The Department of Labor and Industries fined general contractor GLY Construction and Northwest Tower Crane Service, responsible for dismantling the crane $25,200 and $12,000 respectively. Morrow Equipment, which supplied the crane, was cited for a “willful†serious violation which “directly contributed to the collapse†and fined $70,000.
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** (Disclaimer: This video content is intended for educational and informational purposes only) **
"Ok guys, our secondary crane is down. While we wait for it to be up and running, we'll completely de-stabilize this tower from top to bottom and hope for the best."
– Said no SANE person EVER.
To save a few hours, they killed 4 people and traumatized a lot of others. I hope everyone responsible gets some serious jail time. Cowboying jobs that dangerous in this day and age is absolutely unacceptable. They literally removed the technology that was designed and provided to prevent what happened. The level of selfishness and stupidity is beyond immeasurable.
I was going to say that why were all the crane segments separate on the ground. Where were all the locking pins keeping the crane in 1 piece?
Answer: 12:50
may all the ones who died rest in peace and this is 1 of the reasons why i have a fear of heights.
Had the entire crane landed in the road, it would've been much more worse.
10:27 whenever csi is there it's never good rip to the people that lost there lives
The Asian lady who went on the road ignoring the road closed sign gave me a chuckle
I wish the crane operator refused to work on that crane due to the fact the pins were missing and also reported it…cUss shit like this happens when ppl take short cuts
My girlfriend and I drove through that same exact street 3 days before the crane collapsed. Our prays and hearts go out to those deceased.
11:32 is that a body covered up?
Just awful, 20:51 you can see the man falling from the roof that was caught by the rope they were talking about. What a sad situation
There is very little saving of injuries more running around talking and commanding. Dumb ass people need to try taking off some of the weight of the crane pop the tires etc
I remember when this happened. Incredibly sad. In fact me and my sister were just talking about this not 3 days ago.
Does anybody know the intro / outro song?
20:49 The guy on top of the crane had the crane land right on him. Brutal, just brutal.
I was with my aunt visiting Seattle and my aunts friend was in traffic and the crane fell right in front her. They were otp when it happened. It saddens me so much. This could've been prevented
Man, that's just horrible 😪..
I watched this fall in front of me while I was driving through westlake in Seattle. Terrifying and I had no idea 4 people lost their lives
how come every time there is a tragedy people make it about themselves? "omg i was just there! that could have been me! i was so close to there! I, me, i, i, me, me, i, me!"
I grew up with an EMT instructor father, got strapped to spine boards and extricated from "accidents" made possible through the generosity of a local body shop, knew my blood pressure really well, and sat through some slideshows no kid that age should see but I was precocious and tough. No matter how desensitized I am to trauma [which by the grace of God helped me save someone when all his friends developed bystander syndrome] I look at that vehicle and I know what's inside and it chills me to my core. Prayers for the survivors and the departed.
ðŸ’ðŸ’🕊🙌
I see a lot of police walking around telling each other what happened, the fire dept and the AMR's are the only ones doing anything.
I remember that. Crazy I'm proud to share with my brothers in the trades
As a crane operator, i KNOW these types of tragedies can be prevented. I walk out of my house everyday knowing I might not return because of someone else's stupidity…let alone mine ✌🤓. FOLLOW PROPER PROTOCOLS…There in place for a reason
They lied and said the winds picked up and blew it over. Bullshit, there were no pictures of the links stretching, ripping or breaking. They removed the pins before they needed to probably to save time and all they did was kill innocent people. Punks. victims should hold the person who made the decision to do that accountable. When I say accountable, watch the movie "Aftermath" which is based on a true story.