Aug 14, 2008 9:28 pm US/Eastern
'Goliath Crane' Collapse Kills 1 In Quincy
Newlywed Killed In Crane Collapse
QUINCY (WBZ) ―
A 28-year-old man was killed in a crane collapse at the Fore River Ship Yard in Quincy on Thursday, Norfolk District Attorney Bill Keating said.
Weymouth resident Robert Harvey was crushed to death after becoming trapped under the crane, police officials said.
Keating said Harvey was a newlywed who resided in Weymouth but grew up in Quincy.
Four other people suffered injuries in the collapse. Two were taken to Quincy Medical Center, one of which was treated and released, said Quincy police Chief Paul Keenan. The other two victims were treated on scene.
Crews have been dismantling the massive structure known by many as the "Goliath Crane" for about a month so it could be shipped to Romania. The structure once stood 25 stories tall.
Fire Chief Joseph Barron said at an afternoon news conference that workers removed pieces of the crane to cause the support leg to fall, but it dropped before they were prepared.
"It did collapse in the manner it was designed to collapse. It just did not collapse when it was supposed to, obviously," Barron said.
He said the collapse did not affect the structural stability of the rest of the crane.
Harvey's father, Robert Harvey Jr., said his son loved his job.
"He was a great kid. He never had a bit of trouble," he said. "(I) just don't know what to say. We're all devastated here."
Harvey's father said his son's fellow workers called him to tell him there had been an accident.
"All his friends, iron workers, brothers – to get him out – they promised me," said Robert Harvey Jr. "And they did. That's what they did. I want to thank them."
Harvey Jr. said his son was aware of the dangers of dismantling the crane.
"One day he said he always wished he'd come over the bridge and he would look over and the wind would have blown it down. But that wasn't the case," he said.
General Dynamics Corp. constructed the Goliath crane in the 1970s and used it to lift huge pieces of ships and tankers at the Fore River Shipyard, which once employed 32,000 people. The crane has been a fixture in the skies over Quincy for decades, but it's been idle since the shipyard closed in 1986.
"I hate to say it, but he was down there (the shipyard) when he was 16 years old and spray-painted it when it was closed," Harvey's father reminisced.
There have been problems at the shipyard in the past. In the winter of 2005, two workers were killed when part of a steel structure collapsed on a warehouse. Four others were hurt.
Harvey had recently celebrated his 28th birthday. Harvey Jr. said the look on his son's face at his surprise birthday party is the last memory he has of his son.
Harvey was a graduate from Quincy High School where he played hockey. He met his wife, Jen Harvey, of nearly two years when they were both in junior high school.
After the collapse, the Coast Guard maintained a safety zone between the Fore River Bridge and the Braintree terminal to direct boating traffic away from the area.
By late afternoon, boats were fully operational, Keenan said.
OSHA's Braintree branch responded to the accident.
The company in charge of the dismantling, Washington state-based Norsar, had no comment. The crane was purchased by a Romanian shipbuilding and repair company, Daewoo-Mangalia Heavy Industries, which planned to put it back into use.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
