Four People Hospitalized After Crane Collapse at Miami Construction Site

A crane collapsed at a Miami construction site in the Brickell neighborhood shortly after 8 a.m. Monday, sending four people to the hospital and setting a car on fire, according to Miami Fire Chief Robert Hevia.

The crane, which officials described as a piling rig — a type of equipment used to drive columns deep into the ground to support large structures — fell onto a storage container and onto a vehicle on an adjacent street. Two construction workers were inside the storage container at the time of the collapse and became trapped inside the metal box. A fire rescue crew cut the workers free while a second crew member simultaneously worked to extinguish the fire, which Hevia described as a "complex scene."

A woman driving near the construction site saw the crane begin to fall and was able to reverse her car just far enough to exit the vehicle before it was struck and caught fire, Hevia said. The crane operator jumped from the equipment as it was tipping over.