Crane Boom Dangles Over Century City Street in Fall : Big Crane at Century City Construction Site Collapses

A massive crane collapsed atop a high-rise building under construction in Century City this morning. The accident left an 80-foot boom weighing several tons dangling precariously over the street from the 28th floor, but there were no reports of injuries.

“I was looking out the window when I noticed that the crane was swinging very fast,” said Brian Campbell, a 34-year-old office broker who works in another high-rise across the street from the building being erected at 1999 Avenue of the Stars.

“Suddenly, part of it collapsed and it came crashing down through the decking they’re putting in on the top,” Campbell said. “The workmen up there scattered like ants as the thing came down. The boom was left hanging off the side of the building.”

The crane is made of a vertical beam, much like the mast of a ship, with a horizontal boom suspended from it, much like a ship’s boom. Officers of the Dinwiddie Construction Co., which is erecting the building, said the crane was not carrying a load when the boom snapped near where it joins the mast.

Campbell said the crane had been used a few minutes earlier to haul steel beams and other building materials up to the construction crew, which is erecting the top floors of what eventually is to be a 39-story building.

The operator of the crane works from the ground, following the hand signals of workmen perched at the edge of the top floor.

Fire and police units responded quickly to the accident at 10:53 a.m., clearing the streets below while construction crews and firefighters atop the structure worked to secure the dangling boom.