No injuries after 300′ crane collapses onto Kaiser Hospital
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — No injuries were reported after a 300 foot crane collapsed while working at Kaiser Permanente Hospital, at 10800 Magnolia Ave., yesterday afternoon, Saturday, July 11.
Witnesses to the collapse later said from the scene that the fact that no one was injured was likely due to safety precautions being adhered to when the potentially deadly accident happened.
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City of Riverside Police and Fire personnel were dispatched to the scene shortly after 2 p.m., after receiving reports of a large, industrial crane that had collapsed outside the hospital, Riverside Fire Department Battalion Chief Bruce Vanderhorst later said of the accident.
Due to safety precautions, nobody was injured when a 300 foot crane toppled over on top of part of Kaiser Hospital in Riverside. Bob Markin photo
When officials arrived at the scene they found a crane that broke into several parts after collapsing on top of part of the hospital’s structure that houses garbage and a garbage compactor.
Firefighters and other emergency personnel immediately began searching for any victims, but quickly determined there were no victims trapped underneath the wreckage and there were no injuries to any construction workers or civilians when the crane came crashing down.
According to a bystander who witnessed the collapse, the crane had completed placing some air moving equipment onto the roof of the hospital and was in the process of being lowered for disassembly when, for unknown reasons, it toppled over.
“A.O. Reed & Company was assisting Bragg Crane Service in removing and taking down the crane when the crane suddenly tipped over,” explained Vanderhorst.
A big rig in position to move the crane was heavily damaged when it came crashing down on top of it, crushing its roof. Several large, semi-truck trailers were also damaged, as was a small corner of the structure the crane toppled onto.
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Drone footage, which was filmed by Riverside Fire Department personnel and later shared to social media, showed the full extent of the damage caused by the crane’s collapse. (See video below.)
Despite the collapse and subsequent clean-up, the hospital remained open and emergency services were not affected by the incident.
CAL-OSHA, City of Riverside Building and Safety, and other officials are continuing to investigate the cause of the collapse.
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Bob Markin photos below.
OC Hawk photos below.
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Trevor Montgomery, 48, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, (the now defunct) Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 29 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 16 grandchildren.