FORT LAUDERDALE — A section of southbound I-95, between Sunrise and Broward boulevards, has reopened after being closed for much of Monday after a construction crane partially collapsed.
Officials said the incident occurred shortly before 11 a.m. when a crane lifting some pilings toppled over when the ground underneath shifted. It hit a cherry picker or an aerial work platform, also known as a bucket truck.
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Stephen Gollan told CBS4’s Peter D’Oench, “The ground underneath the crane gave way and caused a move in a manner that they had the pilings fall towards the boom the workers were in.”
The three firefighters and police officer, who were involved in a crash while responding to the scene, were taken to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries, authorities said.
The accident occurred during the mid-morning commute and resulted in lengthy traffic gridlock with some motorists reporting being stuck for up to an hour in bumper-to-bumper gridlock.
Guadaloupe Flores, who works as an I-95 Express Courier, said, “It was almost two hours that I was stuck in the same spot. It came to a complete stop maybe a quarter mile before the Broward Boulevard exit. It was hot. We were nervous. Is worried I would run out of gas. How is everyone going to get off the highway.”
Flores said after two hours, traffic in the southbound lanes was diverted to the northbound lanes and she was able to escape. Now she worries about the injured construction workers.
source: CBS News
