Video shows New York City crane collapse, one dead

NEW YORK, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- A 38-year-old man sitting in a parked car and three other people were injured on a New York City street when a massive construction crane collapsed Friday morning

The 565-foot crane collapsed on Worth Street near Church Street at about 8:25 a.m. in front of Weill Cornell Medical Associates building in lower Manhattan. Mayor Bill de Blasio said workers tried to no avail to secure the crane against whipping winds as a winter storm beared down on the area.

David Wiches of Manhattan was pronounced dead at the scene. Dawn Kojima, 45, and Thomas O'Brien, 73, sustained the most serious injuries.

De Blasio said workers were rushing to secure the massive crane as the winds topped 20 mph.

"No work was done this morning because the crew made the decision to bring the crane down to the secure position," the mayor said. "This incident occurred literally as they were lowering the crane to secure it."

Investigators also were trying to determine if an attached wrecking ball snapped off the structure and fell through the roof of a nearby building.

Video shot from a nearby building shows the crane fell quickly.