A woman was driving through a Miami neighborhood on Sep. 14 when an 85-foot crane fell onto her car, setting it on fire.
During a press conference held that day, Miami Fire Rescue Chief Robert Hevia explained that the woman was driving through a Brickell, Miami construction site when the crane fell onto the vehicle.
Luckily, the driver was able to see the crane falling, so she reversed her car and jumped out of the back shortly before the crane crushed it.
The woman left the car with only “minor injuries,” and was taken to the hospital to be treated.
If she was unable to swiftly exit her vehicle, her story could have ended very differently.
Other Injured Victims
When the crane fell, it also crushed a storage container that contained two construction-site workers. Officials from the Miami-Dade County Unsafe Structures and The Occupational Safety and Health Administration came to the scene and rescued the workers.
To save the workers, personnel had to “cut through” the construction box, and extricate them.
After the rescue, they were taken to a trauma center, alongside the crane operator with minor injuries.
Hevia emphasized how he has been in his field for 28 years, and said that the four victims sustaining only minor injuries made it “a remarkable day for them.”
As of Sep. 15, it is unclear what caused the crane to fall down. The chief told reporters that the matter is being investigated.
@nbcdfw A construction crane collapsed in downtown Miami, injuring four people and striking several vehicles. Firefighters extinguished fires sparked by the collapse and rescued two workers trapped inside a construction box. The crane operator jumped from the machine as it began to tip over. Four people, including the operator and a driver, were hospitalized with minor injuries. #miami ♬ original sound – NBCDFW
Construction Workers in Florida
No matter what state they’re in, construction workers face safety risks on the job daily.
The National Safety Council reports that in 2024, the construction industry saw the most workplace deaths nationwide. Yet construction workers are safer in some states than others.
According to an analysis by the Structural Building Components Association (SBCA), Florida is not among the safest — it’s quite the opposite, actually.
Receiving a safety score of 3.62, and a Construction Fatalities Score of 2.28, the trade association named Florida as the third-most dangerous state for construction workers.
Reasons for Danger
In the state with a booming real estate market, constructors are kept “busy,” but with more projects and “frenzied activity” comes more safety risks.
The SBCA also blamed Florida’s “lacking” enforcement of regulations by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
“It has been a lethal recipe,” the report reads.
In order, the other states that made the top five include Montana, Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado.