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Jul 30, 2008 2:11 pm US/Central
1 N. Texas Worker Dead, 1 Hurt In Crane Collapse
SMITHVILLE (CBS 11 News/AP) ―
One North Texas worker died and another worker was injured after an overloaded crane toppled on a bridge over the Colorado River in Central Texas.
The crane, operated by the Euless-based company Stomper Demolition, smashed into a piece of equipment and knocked the two North Texas men from a lift basket. The bridge was about 75 feet above the river, but it was unclear how far the man fell or whether any landed in the water or the riverbed.
An unidentified worker at Stomper Demolition, who was contacted by phone, said the crane was rented from another company.
According to Department of Transportation spokesman Marcus Cooper, the accident happened Wednesday morning during routine work to replace an aging bridge in Bastrop County.
"The momentum of the girder overloaded the crane and the crane fell over," said Cooper, who said the men's identities weren't released.
The condition of the worker at University Medical Center Brackenridge in Austin wasn't immediately available. It was unclear whether the man in the crane was hurt.
The bridge in Smithville, about 45 miles southeast of Austin, remained open because the accident happened off the side of the road.
The old bridge has been removed piece by piece for months, and what's remaining sits near the new bridge that replaced it.
When the crane toppled on the riverbed, some oil spilled into the river, but Lower Colorado River Authority officials on the scene said the spill was not large. Booms were in place to clean it up.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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