Oscar Cabrera and Luis Perez where rushed to a hospital in the early hours of February 8 after they were thrown out of a crane boom by a Metromover rail car at a construction site in Miami, Florida. Cabrera, 43, was later pronounced dead and Perez, 37, was treated and released.
According to news sources, the accident occurred at a constriction site near NW First Avenue and NW Fifth Street at 1 a.m. on Wednesday. Cabrera and Perez were working in an elevated crane boom when a Metromover car crashed into it, ejecting the two men.
Miami Fire Rescue personnel found Cabrera on the ground near the crane boom and Perez was dangling from a safety harness on the crane’s ledge. Both men were reportedly wearing proper safety equipment at the time of the collision. They were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where Cabrera died as a result of his injuries.
No passengers were aboard the Metromover car at the time of the accident. It is still unclear why the rail car crashed into the crane. One witness told news sources that the rail car was on a maintenance run when the accident occurred, but that information has not been confirmed by authorities.
Suffolk Construction Company has been identified as the contractor that employed Cabrera and Perez. The company is working on the new All Aboard Florida Miami Terminal at Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. Station. Suffolk spokesperson Karen Vaughan released the following statement:
“We learned about this terribly sad incident early this morning, and our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the two individuals involved. We are currently working closely with the Miami-Dade police department, Miami-Dade Transit, and OSHA as they continue to investigate the cause of this accident.”
Construction worker Carl Taylor told the press that the construction site is not safe and that “not enough experts [are] looking at what needs to be done for safety.” Suffolk is reportedly full cooperating with investigators.