Three injured in Dallas Cowboys stadium crane accident
June 13, 2008
Andrea Ahles - McClatchy NewspapersIssue date: 6/12/08 Section: Real News
ARLINGTON, Texas _ An orange fence and an investigator with a camera quickly surrounded two cranes lying on the ground at the Dallas Cowboys stadium site on Thursday afternoon after an accident injured three workers.
Despite Careflite landing at the Wal-Mart parking lot across the street to take one critically-injured worker to a Dallas hospital, work continued on the $1.1 billion stadium with crews putting up sheetrock for suites and club areas and waterproofing seating risers in the afternoon heat.
However, other cranes on the site and inside the bowl of the stadium halted work as local and federal officials tried to figure out what went wrong when equipment being used to lift a section of a crane malfunctioned around 2 p.m., forcing three men to jump 15 to 20 feet to avoid whipping cables.
This is the third major accident at the stadium site which started construction in April 2006 and is expected to open in time for the 2009 NFL season.
Crews were using an erector crane on the east end zone plaza area, which is closest to the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, to raise a section of a crawler crane when a cable connector on the erector snapped, officials said.
The vertical sections of the crane were on the ground when the accident happened, said Manhattan Construction representative Keith Cooper.
One of the workers was taken by helicopter ambulance to Baylor Hospital in Dallas and listed in critical condition, said Maria Carpenter, a spokeswoman at the hospital. The other workers were taken by road ambulance and were in fair condition at the hospital late Thursday, Carpenter said.
None of the injuries was life-threatening, Cooper said. Officials would not elaborate on injuries.
The workers are employed by Derr Steel, a steel erection company based in Euless, Texas, that is responsible for placing the arch and roof steel at the site. Derr also erected arch steel at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Officials said the men were well-trained.
Despite Careflite landing at the Wal-Mart parking lot across the street to take one critically-injured worker to a Dallas hospital, work continued on the $1.1 billion stadium with crews putting up sheetrock for suites and club areas and waterproofing seating risers in the afternoon heat.
However, other cranes on the site and inside the bowl of the stadium halted work as local and federal officials tried to figure out what went wrong when equipment being used to lift a section of a crane malfunctioned around 2 p.m., forcing three men to jump 15 to 20 feet to avoid whipping cables.
This is the third major accident at the stadium site which started construction in April 2006 and is expected to open in time for the 2009 NFL season.
Crews were using an erector crane on the east end zone plaza area, which is closest to the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, to raise a section of a crawler crane when a cable connector on the erector snapped, officials said.
The vertical sections of the crane were on the ground when the accident happened, said Manhattan Construction representative Keith Cooper.
One of the workers was taken by helicopter ambulance to Baylor Hospital in Dallas and listed in critical condition, said Maria Carpenter, a spokeswoman at the hospital. The other workers were taken by road ambulance and were in fair condition at the hospital late Thursday, Carpenter said.
None of the injuries was life-threatening, Cooper said. Officials would not elaborate on injuries.
The workers are employed by Derr Steel, a steel erection company based in Euless, Texas, that is responsible for placing the arch and roof steel at the site. Derr also erected arch steel at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Officials said the men were well-trained.
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