Crane Tragady in Downtown Bellevue

Just to the left of where this crane fell (last night at 7:45pm), when I worked for The Sheraton Belllevue, I would park the shuttle to drop off or wait for guests dinning at Seastar. Typically between the hours of 7:00pm and 10:00pm, almost every night.

3 Bellevue buildings damaged in crane collapse; at least one killed
A giant tower construction crane in downtown Bellevue tipped over Thursday night and smashed into an apartment building, killing at least one person in an apartment.

The 210-foot-tall crane toppled from a construction site about 7:45 p.m. It fell across 108th Avenue Northeast, a major downtown north-south thoroughfare.

At least three downtown buildings had severe structural damage: the Plaza 305 office building, the Civica Office Commons and the Pinnacle BellCentre, a mixture of stores on the ground level and luxury apartments above.

Also damaged was an adjacent restaurant, the Melting Pot.

Dozens of residents, diners and others were evacuated. Firefighters were going through the buildings late Thursday looking for other victims.

The crane operator, who was not identified, was trapped in the control cab of the yellow crane nearly 30 feet off the ground. Firefighters used a ladder to reach him, and he walked from the scene, according to fire officials. Bellevue Fire Department spokesman Lt. Bruce Kroon said the operator "rode the crane down" nearly 200 feet.

The operator suffered minor injuries and was taken to nearby Overlake Hospital for evaluation.
Fire officials said they were "red tagging" the buildings, meaning they were not safe to be occupied. The crane was left suspended over the street pending the arrival of investigators from the state Department of Labor and Industries.

Kroon said early today that searchers had not been able to access a collapsed portion of the Plaza 305 building because it was so dangerous. He said two smaller cranes were on their way to the scene to stabilize the fallen tower and wreckage before the search could be completed.

The crane was located at the site of Tower 333, a 20-story office building under construction at the corner of Northeast Fourth Street and 108th Avenue Northeast. The crane was anchored in a pit about five stories deep.

Complete Story:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003434979_crane17m.html