April 4 (UPI) -- A construction worker was killed and two people were hospitalized after a piece of a crane fell onto a bridge in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Thursday, according to firefighters.
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Greg May said workers were erecting the crane near the Southeast Third Avenue bridge over the New River when "some type of failure" occurred around 4:30 p.m.
The crane was next to the top of a multistory building being built on Southeast Third Avenue when a platform supporting it became unstable, causing a piece to drop a few hundred feet onto the bridge.
"They were in the process of erecting the crane and moving it up one story when something happened to that piece," May told the Miami Herald, noting the crane, itself, did not collapse.
The reason the platform became unstable is under investigation.
One construction worker died in the incident. The piece of crane hit a car and injured a woman inside. Paramedics took her to Broward Health Medical Center in critical condition.
A second person who was on the bridge when the piece of crane fell was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
With the accident occurring right before rush hour and cars streaming out of downtown, Fire Chief Stephen Gollan said, "This could have been a lot worse."
The accident shut down traffic along Southeast Third Avenue in both directions. Boat traffic in the New River near the bridge also is shut down due to the draw bridge no longer working.
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