Page 4 - aruba-today-20230727

A4 U.S. NEWS
Thursday 27 July 2023

Pedestrians scatter as fire causes NY construction crane’s arm to

collapse

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ and spond to a request for
KAREN MATTHEWS comment.
Associated Press In May of 2008, a collapse
NEW YORK (AP) — A tow- of the company’s tower
ering construction crane crane killed two workers on
caught fire high above the the Upper East Side of Man-
West Side of Manhattan on hattan.
Wednesday morning, caus- The company and its own-
ing its long arm to snap off, er, James Lomma, were
smash against a nearby acquitted of manslaughter
building and plummet to and other charges; a me-
the street as people ran for chanic pleaded guilty to
their lives on the sidewalk criminally negligent homi-
below. cide.
Several people suffered mi- It was one of two deadly
nor injuries in the collapse, crane accidents in 2008,
but no one died, New York leading to the resignation
City Mayor Eric Adams said. of the city’s buildings com-
“As you can see from the missioner, as well as new
debris on the street, this This rendering provided by Clark County, Nev., on June 2, 2023, shows one of five potential designs safety measures around
could have been much for a permanent memorial to be built on the Las Vegas Strip in honor of the victims, survivors and testing and oversight of
worse,” the Democrat said first responders of the Oct. 1, 2017, mass shooting that left 60 dead and hundreds more injured at crane operations.
at a news conference, not- a country music festival in Las Vegas. Five years later, a crane
ing that the street at that Associated Press owned by the company
hour of the morning is often commissioner for the Fire A worker at a nearby con- ties said they also planned left a concrete cube dan-
filled with pedestrians, cars Department of New York. struction site said everyone to investigate the structural gling above a bustling pe-
and buses. “As the fire heats the ca- stopped and watched as integrity of the residential destrian area for several
The crane was operating ble, the cable weakens flames engulfed the top of tower, which is under con- hours, shutting down a ma-
45 stories up when its en- to a point where it loses its the crane and a column of struction and expected to jor thoroughfare in Mid-
gine compartment caught strength, and that’s where black smoke rose above rise to 54 stories. town Manhattan.
fire at around 7:25 a.m., the collapse occurred.” buildings. Within a few The crane is owned by the Delecia McInnis, a Long
authorities said. Photos and The person operating the minutes, firefighters were New York Crane & Equip- Island resident who saw
videos on social media crane tried to put out the shooting water down at ment Corp., one of the city’s the crane come down
show flames bursting from fire as it spread but had to the blaze from a balcony most widely used crane Wednesday, said she was
the crane hundreds of feet flee to safety, Pfeifer said. of an adjacent building. providers, officials said. The surprised no one was seri-
above 10th Avenue at 41st Nine civilians experienced “I never seen anything like Queens-based company ously injured.
Street. The crane’s arm, minor injuries in the col- that,” said Charles Pesca- has been involved in other “There’s so many things
which was carrying a 16- lapse or its aftermath, ac- tore, 18, a college helper crane problems in recent going on at 7 o’clock in
ton load of concrete, dan- cording to a fire depart- on a construction site a few years, leading to criminal the city, people are going
gled before breaking off. ment spokesperson. Two blocks away. “It could have charges and new safety to school, summer camp,
“That weight of 16 tons is firefighters experienced killed a bunch of people.” measures around New York there’s always someone
attached by a cable,” said heat exhaustion and chest The cause of the fire is be- City’s crane operations. around in this area,” she
Joseph Pfeifer, first deputy pains. ing investigated. Authori- The company did not re- said.q

Design for Vegas Strip mass shooting

memorial features 58 beams of light

shooting in modern U.S. his- Committee, which began killed in the shooting.
tory. the planning process more Another committee mem-
The number 58 represents than three years ago. The ber, Karessa Royce, was
the toll of people who were panel is expected to sub- among the more than 850
killed in the Las Vegas Strip mit a full recommendation others who were injured in
massacre in October 2017, including an alternate de- the attack. A junior at the
when a gunman opened sign to the Clark County University of Nevada, Las
fire from a high-rise suite Commission in September. Vegas, at the time of the
This rendering provided by Clark County, Nev., on June 2, 2023, at the Mandalay Bay ho- “I will not lie that this has shooting, she said her work
shows one of five potential designs for a permanent memorial to tel, targeting people at a been a simple process, be- on the committee helped
be built on the Las Vegas Strip in honor of the victims, survivors
and first responders of the Oct. 1, 2017, mass shooting that left country music festival be- cause it hasn’t,” commit- guide her through the af-
60 dead and hundreds more injured at a country music festival low. Two people who ini- tee member Mynda Smith termath.
in Las Vegas. tially survived died in sub- said through tears. “But at “When I woke up in the
Associated Press sequent years from causes the end of the day, I know hospital in 2017 the day
By RIO YAMAT the design concept chosen that were attributed to the this will become something after the shooting, I never
Associated Press Wednesday at an emotion- gunshot wounds they suf- of beauty and healing and could’ve imagined the
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Fifty- al meeting of a committee fered. love.” journey we’d be on togeth-
eight towering, candlelike tasked with creating a per- The announcement marks Smith’s sister, Neysa Tonks, er,” Royce said, her voice
beams will cast a blanket manent memorial at the a major step forward for a 46-year-old mother of cracking as she clutched a
of warm light on visitors in site of the deadliest mass the 1 October Memorial three from Las Vegas, was tissue in her hand.q