HOUSTON – A large crane at a west Houston building under construction fell on its side Friday afternoon.
The accident happened at a building on Kirkwood and the Katy Freeway, next to Don McGill Toyota. Engineers still don't know exactly how it happened. Fortunately no one got hurt and there was no major damage to either the building or the car lot.
"Just a real loud crash," said Mike Mynatt, general manager of Don McGill Toyota. "Didn't know what it was, then we came out and we saw."
What they saw was a several stories-tall industrial crane that toppled near the side of a building still under construction.
"I came to get my check and everybody was looking, and I was like, 'What happened?'" said Beth Strickland.
The crane fell in a direction between the building and the car lot. Pieces of metal sheared off the back end of a pickup truck. Other bits of falling debris scratched up other cars, but considering the size of the piece of equipment, the damage could've been much worse.
Even the crane operator appeared to walk away rattled, but unscathed.
"Just fortunate no one got hurt," said Mynatt.
More equipment will have to be brought to remove different parts of the crane, and an investigation is underway to figure out how it happened.
