May 1, 2008 7:36 pm US/Eastern
Worker Identified In Fatal Crane Accident
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ/AP) ―
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A construction worker is dead after a crane accident in Annapolis.
CBS
A construction worker is killed on the job in Anne Arundel County.
He was in the process of dismantling the crane, a very risky operation.
Jessica Kartalija reports state officials are looking to improve safety on cranes.
Rescue efforts became a recovery effort after 44-year-old Denis Umanzor of Silver Spring was killed on a crane 200 feet above the ground at the Annapolis Towne Center.
"The workers were in the process of dismantling the nose or end section of the crane when something went wrong, trapping the worker between the two sections of the crane they were trying to take apart," said Chief Michael Cox.
It's still unclear exactly what happened. Investigators spent hours on the crane trying to figure out how Umanzor was killed.
"Any time you have men up in the air connecting steel, it's very dangerous," said Ron DeJulius.
Labor and Industry Commissioner Ron DeJulius is working with state agencies to tighten state regulations when it comes to operating cranes.
"We are actually going to have hands on training so inspectors are as familiar with the cranes as the people who actually operate on them, and the ones who put them together and take them apart," said DeJulius.
After running a safety check on the company that owns the crane involved in Wednesday's accident,
Eyewitness News discovered Miller, Long And Arnold Inc. has had two accidents, one of them involving a crane.
Next week , DeJulius is bringing state experts on crane safety to Baltimore to toss around ideas for improvement.
"What we're trying to do is find better ways to train and make the public aware of crane safety, not only the operation but also in the erection and dismantling of cranes," said DeJulius.
There were two other accidents at the Annapolis Towne Center. A BGE worker was shocked and another worker fell when scaffolding collapsed. Those injuries were non-fatal.
Maryland is just one of several states working to improve safety on construction sites.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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