Federal work safety officials are investigating what caused a crane to tip over and smash into the top of a University of Pittsburgh building on Friday.
Ruskin Avenue is blocked off as workers determine how to remove a crane that tipped over Friday, July 3, 2015, in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood.
No one was injured, and damage was minimal.
The crane wobbled and fell onto the roof of Langley Hall on Ruskin Avenue in Oakland about 9 a.m.
A construction crew renovating Ruskin Hall, an apartment-style residence hall, was using the crane to lift scaffolding when the accident occurred, Pitt spokeswoman Sharon Blake said.
Pitt spokesman Ken Service said Franco Associates, the Forest Hills construction firm that owns the crane, told him that worker error likely caused the accident.
Jack Kramer, a project manager at Franco Associates, said it will interview the crane operator and he’ll undergo a drug test. In the meantime, the crane operator is off the job.
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration should know more on Monday, spokeswoman Lenore Uddyback-Fortson said.
Neither she nor Kramer would say whether improper use of the outriggers used to balance the truck holding the crane might have contributed.
Service said Langley Hall sustained minor damage, mostly cosmetic, when the crane pierced a metal overhang.
Because of the Fourth of July holiday, Blake said, there may have been just a couple of people in Langley Hall when the crane hit the roof.
Langley is home to science facilities and Langley Library.
