A man described the terrifying close call when a portion of a crane fell from a high-rise construction site Thursday in downtown Fort Lauderdale and crushed his Tesla.
Mark Cerezin was driving on the Southeast 3rd Avenue bridge over the New River when he suddenly had the feeling something was coming down.
"I felt a compression, and I looked up and I saw the blue structure coming down, and I slammed on my brakes," he told NBC6. "It sheared off the front of my Tesla and all the airbags went off — and I’m very lucky to be alive."
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Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue officials said a construction crew working on a high-rise building was in the process of “stepping the crane” when a section being prepared to increase the crane's height came loose.
The section of the crane fell, bringing a construction worker with it, and causing fatal injuries, officials said. The section then landed on the bridge, damaging at least two vehicles.
"I saw the structure bounce off my car and land on the car next to me," Cerezin said.
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Footage from Chopper 6 showed a dark-colored SUV completely crushed by the crane piece. Not too far from that was Cerezie's car, a Tesla with its front heavily damaged.
Another man who said he was just a few cars behind had filmed Cerezin using the shirt off his back to help the woman whose car was crushed by the crane.
Tony Perez said he was coming home from work when he saw the crane falling from the sky.
"I'm like, this is crazy, it's really happening," he said. "And then boom, a loud, crashing sound, and it landed right on this car. It was like, five or six cars in front of me, so I was just like, 'oh my God, it could've been me."
One woman who lives in an apartment across from where the collapse happened said she saw the crane falling from the sky and hit the corner of a building. She described the screams she heard from construction workers as "unsettling."
"It was really shocking," said the woman, who identified herself as Abby. "It was very traumatizing ... to hear the 'boom' — I was terrified and shocked."
The bridge was damaged by the falling crane section, meaning the roadway will be closed indefinitely until it's repaired. The river that runs under the bridge was also closed to marine traffic.
Officials didn't immediately know what caused the crane section to fall. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue will investigate.
