A crane accident Tuesday at a hospital under construction in Lakewood injured a construction worker.
The accident happened about 11:45 a.m. at the new St. Anthony Hospital site at the Federal Center, said Cindy Matthews, a West Metro Fire Protection District spokeswoman.
A West Metro ambulance was sent to the site, but the injured worker had already left, driving himself to a hospital, Matthews said.
The construction site was shut down as the crane accident was investigated, Matthews said.
Jeff McCoy, who works at the Federal Center for the U.S. Geological Survey, was eating lunch and watching the construction when he heard and saw the accident.
“The crane was lifting a vertical I-beam into place, and I heard a whipping sound,” McCoy said. “The crane had a weightless look, and I saw it come down and twist.”
McCoy watched as the “top part of it fell down against the lower main boom.”
A worker at the site said a cable on the crane snapped, whipping a steel ball attached to the cable through the upper portion of the crane.
As the ball rammed through the top of the crane, the upper portion “exploded,” he said, sending parts of the crane’s jib falling to the ground.
The worker asked not to be identified because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the media.
McCoy said he was relieved that no one was seriously hurt or killed.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com
