Unpinned Crane Lock Tied to I-5 Death

An unsecured safety mechanism on the cab of a crane truck was blamed Thursday for an accident on Interstate 5 in which a 10-ton overhead steel beam was snagged and yanked onto the truck, crushing the driver.

Robert Gustin, investigating officer for the California Highway Patrol, said a pin-lock mechanism meant to keep the crane’s boom from bouncing while the truck is moving apparently had not been fastened.

That caused the boom--which stretches from the cab roof downward to the rear of the rig--to bounce up and snag a supporting beam of the bridge under construction over Interstate 5 at Del Mar Heights Road on Wednesday, Gustin said.

Was Going to Another Job

Truck driver Leslie Wayne Bell, 41, an employee of Marco Crane & Rigging Co. of San Diego, was killed instantly when the beam crashed nearly straight down into the truck cab. The rest of the 75-foot-long beam came to rest across three northbound lanes. There were no other injuries.

Gustin said the locking mechanism on the gantry section of the boom, meant to secure the boom to the cab for traveling, had not been pinned. The crane truck was on its way to a construction site in Carlsbad when the 1:30 p.m. accident occurred, snarling traffic for hours.

If locked securely, the gantry section over the control cab, the tallest part of the rig, is 13 feet, 6 inches, which would have allowed a foot of clearance for the bridge construction. The bridge clearance was listed as 14 feet, 6 inches at its lowest point.

Gustin said investigators believe the bouncing boom missed the first 11 of the supporting beams, grazed the 12th, gouged the 13th and then brought down the 14th on the driver’s head.

Marco officials declined to comment on the accident.

“The accident is under investigation,” company secretary Barbara LeDuc said, acting as a spokeswoman. “We are working with the CHP and other authorities. As soon as the results are done, then we’ll be making a statement.”

Gustin said there was no indication that Bell was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The San Diego County coroner’s office said toxicology tests will not be completed for at least two weeks.