'He Loved His Job,' Crane Victim's Dad Says
Cause Of Collapse Under Investigation
POSTED: 12:36 pm EDT August 14,
2008
UPDATED: 7:00 pm EDT August 14,
2008
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BOSTON -- One person was killed in a crane collapse at the Quincy Fore River shipyard Thursday afternoon. 
Father Of Crane Victim: 'He Loved His Job' | Man Killed In Crane Collapse | Uncut: Quincy Crane Collapse | Images | 911 CallThe victim was Robert Harvey, 28, a union ironworker and newlywed, Norfolk County District Attorney William R. Keating said. Officials would not say if Harvey was the crane operator."When we arrived, we determined that one person had been trapped under one portion of the crane that was being demolished or removed. That gentleman, unfortunately, perished from the injures, the crushing injuries, due to the fall of the crane," Quincy Police Chief Paul Keenan said.Two other workers were injured in the collapse and taken to a local hospital. Two other people were treated at the scene for minor injuries.The collapse happened at about 12:26 p.m., Quincy fire officials said.It is unclear what caused the crane to collapse. The site has been shut down while an investigation into the incident is conducted."He loved his job as an ironworker and (coworkers) loved him because it was quite a showing when he was still stuck, still trapped. They respected me and him, and promised that they would take care of him and they did," the victim's father, Robert Harvey said.Work was being done to dismantle the Goliath crane at the site, which has been a landmark that has towered over the community for 30 years.Workers from the Norsar LLC company began taking the crane apart at the end of July, first removing the bottom support bars, called sill beams, after lifting the top three quarters of the 3,000-ton crane.A spokesman for the company said dismantling from the bottom up allowed for all the work to be done on the ground, which he said was a safer approach.The 328-foot crane was scheduled to be taken apart in 80-foot sections and a barge was set to take it to a heavy industries shipyard in Romania.General Dynamics built the crane in the mid-1970s to lift 120-foot spheres for liquefied natural gas tanker hulls.The company closed the yard in 1986 because of overseas competition.
Father Of Crane Victim: 'He Loved His Job' | Man Killed In Crane Collapse | Uncut: Quincy Crane Collapse | Images | 911 CallThe victim was Robert Harvey, 28, a union ironworker and newlywed, Norfolk County District Attorney William R. Keating said. Officials would not say if Harvey was the crane operator."When we arrived, we determined that one person had been trapped under one portion of the crane that was being demolished or removed. That gentleman, unfortunately, perished from the injures, the crushing injuries, due to the fall of the crane," Quincy Police Chief Paul Keenan said.Two other workers were injured in the collapse and taken to a local hospital. Two other people were treated at the scene for minor injuries.The collapse happened at about 12:26 p.m., Quincy fire officials said.It is unclear what caused the crane to collapse. The site has been shut down while an investigation into the incident is conducted."He loved his job as an ironworker and (coworkers) loved him because it was quite a showing when he was still stuck, still trapped. They respected me and him, and promised that they would take care of him and they did," the victim's father, Robert Harvey said.Work was being done to dismantle the Goliath crane at the site, which has been a landmark that has towered over the community for 30 years.Workers from the Norsar LLC company began taking the crane apart at the end of July, first removing the bottom support bars, called sill beams, after lifting the top three quarters of the 3,000-ton crane.A spokesman for the company said dismantling from the bottom up allowed for all the work to be done on the ground, which he said was a safer approach.The 328-foot crane was scheduled to be taken apart in 80-foot sections and a barge was set to take it to a heavy industries shipyard in Romania.General Dynamics built the crane in the mid-1970s to lift 120-foot spheres for liquefied natural gas tanker hulls.The company closed the yard in 1986 because of overseas competition.Copyright 2008 by TheBostonChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
