2nd Large Hydraulic Crane in 2 Days Topples at Glendale Construction Site

A large hydraulic crane fell on its side at a Glendale construction site Wednesday, slightly injuring the operator, who fell into the construction pit below.

It was the second such mishap in as many days at the site.

Larry Young, 31, of Long Beach, suffered only minor scrapes when he fell from the crane 30 feet to the ground. The accident occurred shortly before 9 a.m. at 115 N. Maryland Ave. Workers there are building a multilevel city garage.

A construction supervisor at the site said the rigging supporting the 14-ton crane snapped and it tipped on a sidewalk bordering the construction pit. Its 70-foot boom crashed through plywood flooring planks in the pit below. None of the nearly 50 other workers on hand were injured.

Young, an employee of Werner Corp. in Anaheim, narrowly missed becoming impaled on steel and iron reinforcement rods protruding from the pit.

Witnesses said Young had lowered a load of steel reinforcement rods into the construction pit and was lifting the boom out when the rigging snapped.

Rescue workers pulled him from the scene about 45 minutes later. He was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank where he was examined and released.

Another crane operator, Derek Jensen, of Taylor Woodrow Construction, said he escaped injury Tuesday when an 18-ton hydraulic crane he was operating at the site toppled after a portion of a sidewalk beneath it collapsed.