![]() Site of the collapse, seen two days later | |
Date | April 27, 2019 |
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Time | 3:28 p.m. |
Location | Mercer Street and Fairview Avenue, Seattle, Washington, United States |
Coordinates | 47°37′29″N 122°20′06″W / 47.62472°N 122.33500°W |
Type | Crane collapse |
Deaths | 4 |
Non-fatal injuries | 4 |
On April 27, 2019, at approximately 3:28 p.m. Pacific Time, a construction crane working on a Google office building in Seattle, Washington, United States, collapsed onto Mercer Street, killing four people and injuring four others.[1] The crane, which was being dismantled, fell across the street and its median, crushing six cars near the Fairview Avenue intersection. It also damaged the building's roof and eastern facade.[2] Two of the four victims were ironworkers, while the others, a college student and a former city administrator, were in vehicles on the street.[3]
Several strong gusts of wind were reported in the area, including one recorded at a speed of 23 miles per hour (37 km/h) at the time of the collapse. Wind speed was briefly theorized as a factor in the collapse.[1][4] The incident was captured in a dashcam video that was posted online the day after the accident, showing the perspective from westbound Mercer Street.[5]
Seattle has undergone a construction boom since the Great Recession, tallying 60 cranes in early 2019—the most in one city in the United States at the time.[6] The last local crane incident to include fatalities occurred in November 2006 during construction of the Expedia Building in Bellevue, which killed one person in a nearby building. As a result, Washington adopted laws to enforce stricter crane safety policies, including enhanced operator certification and training.[7]
The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries began an investigation into the incident, with cooperation from developer Vulcan, Inc., the City of Seattle, and general contractor GLY Construction.[8][9] The collapse's cause was initially unknown, although outside investigators had speculated that the improper removal of pins and bolts during disassembly was a potential cause.[10][11] Mercer Street remained shut down for the weekend and re-opened on Monday morning, following removal of the crane and debris to a nearby lot.[4][12]