A woman who was driving when a crane collapsed on her SUV in Brickell on Monday morning is lucky to be alive, officials said.
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The woman was driving a white BMW along Brickell Bay Drive near Southeast 12th Street when the 85-foot drill rig at a nearby construction site collapsed around 8 a.m.
Miami Fire Chief Robert Hevia said the woman saw the crane collapsing and reversed as it landed on her hood, causing her SUV to catch fire.
The woman had moved the vehicle just far enough to get out of the back, Hevia said.
She was hospitalized with minor injuries.
“We’ve been in contact with her, really told her ‘count your blessings, God was watching over you today,'” Hevia said. “To be able to see the crane fall and pull the car in reverse and pop out of the back while the car’s on fire, really incredible. Today’s a new birthday for her.”
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Aerial images from Chopper 6 showed the burnt wreckage of the BMW on the street with the crane resting on top of its front end. Two other parked cars were struck but no one was inside them, Hevia said.
The crane landed on top of a construction box with two workers inside, but they were rescued and also suffered minor injuries.
The crane operator was also hospitalized with minor injuries.
“I’ve been on the fire department for 28 years, when you see the scene it’s impressive the fact that we had four victims and they were all able to be extricated or self extricate themselves with minor injuries is a remarkable day for them,” Hevia said.
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