Crews Upright Fallen Construction Crane in Mineola

Construction crews have uprighted a multi-story construction crane after it toppled in Mineola Wednesday afternoon, injuring its operator and closing off Mineola Boulevard to traffic for much of the day.

The crane was in operation at the new Winthrop University-Hospital Diabetes Research Center facility currently being built at Mineola Boulevard and Second Street. It was operating in the northeast corner of the site when at 12:40 p.m. when it began to tip over, ultimately falling into the construction site.

The operator of the crane sustained injuries in his neck and back, not from the initial tipping over of the crane, but from “jumping out of the crane” according to Mayor Scott Strauss earlier that day. “He climbed down, he injured himself, he’s at Winthrop now.”

Hicksville-based Bay Crane, the company who owns and operates the crane, brought in two other cranes to pull the fallen crane upright. The company was hired by Lend Lease, the general contractor for the facility, for construction on the research building.

The other two cranes successfully righted the fallen crane shortly after 10 p.m. Wednesday night before workers lowered the crane boom and made it ready to leave the site, possibly for inspection and repairs.

The exact circumstances of the accident could be released in a few months after OSHA investigators determine a cause.

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