28.05.2015

Crane operator fatality

A crane operator died on Wednesday after his crane came off the edge of a road and rolled into a field at a wind farm in Nebraska.

The man Thomas Bales, 40, joined Wanzek Construction 10 days ago and went straight to work on a contract for Tradesman International on the Prairie Breeze Wind Energy Centre, being built for Invenergy.

He was driving a 90 ton Rough Terrain crane along one of the roads on the site, which is around 100 miles northwest of Lincoln, when he strayed too close to the edge of the road, causing it to give way, resulting in the crane rolling over and crushing the cab.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will investigate the incident.