Crane for South County Pipeline Flips, Trapping 4; 2 Are Injured

Four construction workers were trapped for more than two hours Friday after a huge crane flipped over during installation of a water pipeline, county fire officials said.

Two men of the men were injured in the 9:45 a.m. accident, which occurred at a construction site for the South County Pipeline on Olympiad Road about a quarter of a mile east of La Paz Road, said Capt. Dan Young of the Orange County Fire Department.

Crane operator Frank Aguinagal, 50, of Whittier was thrown through the windshield of the crane as it overturned and he was trapped beneath it. He suffered broken ribs and a broken leg, and was listed in serious condition after undergoing surgery at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center, Young said.

Steve Bubalo, 36, of Temple City sustained a back injury and was listed in fair condition at Mission. Bubalo and two other men who were not hurt were trapped inside a 66-inch-wide concrete water pipe hanging from the crane when it flipped, Young said.

The incident occurred when the counterweight on the crane shifted, causing it to lurch forward and flip over. The crane came to rest on the edge of a 40-foot-deep ditch where the pipe was being laid, Young said.

The pipe became pinned in the ditch between a tangle of metal from the arm portion of the crane and the loose dirt in the trench, he said.

“The crane went head over heels and landed upside down,” Young said. “It hit the bottom of the ditch, upside down, and (the crane operator) was blown through the windshield. It was an elaborate operation to get them all out of there, and it’s amazing that no one was more seriously hurt.”

Construction of the $114-million South County Pipeline began last September. It is being built with funds from the Santa Margarita Water District and the Metropolitan Water District. Its purpose is to provide larger pipes for the expanding drinking water supplies required by rapidly growing South Orange County.

When completed next year, the pipeline will link El Toro and San Clemente, spanning 24.7 miles. It will connect to a 32-mile pipeline that stretches from Irvine to the Yorba Linda filtration plant for the main Metropolitan Water District line that feeds Orange County.