A crane fell Tuesday morning (9th August 2022) onto a five-story apartment building under construction in Winchester, according to authorities.
Winchester Police Chief Daniel J. O’Connell said via email that the fall was reported shortly after 9 a.m.
O’Connell said a crane “tipped over into building on the worksite of Wainwright Road and Cambridge Street. Police and Fire responded as did OSHA. We do not have a completed report yet but nobody was hurt. Looks like the operator of the crane forgot to engage the outriggers.”
Ted Fitzgerald, an OSHA spokesman, confirmed Tuesday afternoon that the federal agency was “on-site at the Winchester incident and investigating.”
Winchester Fire Chief Rick Tustin said in a separate email message that the cause of the crane fall remains under investigation.
“At approximately 9:06 a.m. we dispatched an engine and ladder company for a report of a crane that had tipped over into a structure under construction,” Tustin wrote. “There were no reported injuries and all personnel were accounted for upon our arrival. … A structural engineer was also requested. The scene has been made safe and a plan is being formulated to remove the crane.”
Wainwright Road was still closed as of 7:30 p.m., according to a police dispatcher.
Tuesday’s accident follows an incident in Dorchester on July 26 when a truck-mounted crane collapsed on its right side at a construction site at the intersection of East Cottage Street and Dorchester Avenue.
That crane was deployed at the construction of a five-story building that’s part of a mixed-use development expected to generate 38 residential units, 26 parking spaces, and restaurant space on the ground level, according to the Boston Planning and Development Agency postings.
