1 dead in Manhattan crane collapse

One person was killed and two others were hospitalized when a crane collapsed in Lower Manhattan Friday morning. The FDNY says the incident happened shortly after 8 a.m. at 40 Worth St. and West Broadway.

News 12 Staff

Feb 6, 2016, 2:30 AM

Updated 3,149 days ago

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One person was killed and two others were hospitalized when a crane collapsed in Lower Manhattan Friday morning.
The FDNY says the incident happened shortly after 8 a.m. at 40 Worth St. and West Broadway. The crane collapsed as it was being lowered due to high wind.
Police say 38-year-old David Wiches, of Manhattan, was killed. He had been walking along the sidewalk at the time of the collapse.
A 45-year-old woman and a 73-year-old man were also injured. They were hospitalized in stable condition. Their identities weren't released.
A third person suffered minor injuries, according to city officials.
Mayor Bill de Blasio says the crane was being lowered as a precaution because of wind from Friday's snowstorm when the accident occurred. He added that the crane had been inspected as recently as Thursday.
The collapse also caused gas leaks in the area.
Queens-based Bay Crane Services owns the crane. The company, which also has a Hicksville location, has had safety violations and accidents in the past. In December 2013, one of its cranes fell over at a Mineola construction site, and in 2010, another crane topped onto a Manhattan building. No one was hurt in those incidents.
Local and federal investigators are now interviewing the crew and the operator of the crane. A safety expert tells News 12 that video that captured the collapse appears to show that the crane's boom and jib were not lowered in the correct order, but that has not been confirmed by investigators.
News 12 contacted Bay Crane Services for comment, but the calls went unreturned.
Relatives told the Associated Press that Wiches was a Harvard-educated immigrant who had worked tirelessly to succeed.
Associated Press wire services contributed to this report.