Crane falls onto house, breaks roof

Conor Fitzgerald was in his bedroom when a steel beam and part of a crane crashed through the roof of his apartment Wednesday morning.

"I was sitting in my room checking Facebook, and the next thing I know, the ceiling was coming down on me," said Fitzgerald, sophomore political science major. "It came clear through. I could feel the end of the crane in the room,"

A crane from the construction site next to 160 Sixth St. at the corner of Grant Avenue was setting steel beams shortly after 10 a.m. The soft ground gave way under the crane, tipping the truck and sending the arm of the crane slowly through the roof, said Lt. Andy Laskody of the Morgantown Fire Department.

No one was injured, though the four-apartment house was occupied at the time of the accident.

Fitzgerald and his roommates evacuated the building and watched from the street, where they were joined by neighbors.

"The whole house shook, and I thought it was an earthquake," said Dave Mongada, sophomore education major who also lives in the apartment.

"It was a simple case of operator error with the crane," said Bill Bjorkman, of PRU Inc. Bjorkman's company is building the apartment complex in the adjacent lot. He said the crane operator placed the outriggers, equipment to stabilize the crane, in the mud instead of on the solid sidewalk or the street.

"This project was supposed to be so simple," Bjorkman said. "This set everything back."

He did not directly hire the crane company because it was hired through his steel company. He did not know the identity of the operator. He said the liability lies with the crane company but that he has spoken to the landlord about the accident.

Emergency personnel evacuated all four apartments in the building and shut off the utilities, but by afternoon, only the damaged apartment was closed, and the utilities to the other apartments were restored, according to the Morgantown Code Enforcement Office.

"The damage was isolated to one room. Everything's being taken care of. We're just glad everyone's okay," said a representative from BCK Rentals, the company that rents the damaged apartment.

In addition to police and fire personnel, representatives from the University also came to the scene to make sure the students had accommodations and to help notify their professors.

A wrecker truck arrived by 11:15 a.m. to right the crane. By early afternoon, the crane was removed, the hole in the roof patched by plastic and the site roped off with caution tape.

The residents of the apartment were in good humor, despite the accident.

"I guess I have a new skylight," Fitzgerald said.

kellen.henry@mail.wvu.edu