Story updated at 3:31 p.m.
As investigations by city, state and federal departments into a crane collapse in downtown Fort Lauderdale continued, the city's mayor paid his condolences to the family of a construction worker killed in the accident.
The Southeast Third Avenue bridge had been closed off until shortly after midnight after a construction crane crashed onto it at around 4:40 p.m. Thursday. The collapse also injured three motorists in their cars and left a hole on the drawbridge.
Fort Lauderdale Police Department detectives are in charge of investigating the events surrounding the construction worker's death, whom authorities named as Jorge De La Torre, 27.
"My heart goes out to the family, friends and co-workers of the individual who tragically died yesterday," said Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis in a statement Friday afternoon. "My thoughts are also with the two others who were injured."
It also emerged Friday afternoon that a company being investigated by officials over the crane collapse — West Palm Beach-based KAST Construction — was cited with two U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) violations at other job sites last year.
Employees at a Tampa job site were exposed to fall hazards of approximately 8 feet. "...the employer removed a perimeter guardrail system without providing adequate means of protection," the OSHA violation reads. And in Sarasota, employees were exposed to a 129-foot fall hazard, as rails of the guardrail system were missing on the 18th floor, according to OSHA.
"OSHA opened an investigation in to this tragic incident with the following employers: Phoenix Rigging & Erecting LLC, Kast Construction, LLC, and Maxim Crane Works LP," OSHA spokesperson Erika Ruthman confirmed to WLRN by email on Friday.
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and the U.S. Coast Guard are among the other state and federal agencies investigating.
Mayor Trantalis said city staff will work with other government agencies to determine what caused this accident to ensure future safety. He also thanked law enforcement for their response.
"There is very likely, potentially, evidence in the water that we're gonna have to recover as well," Chief Bill Schultz told the Fort Lauderdale Marine Advisory Board during a meeting Thursday night.
Construction workers were in the process of “stepping the crane” when the accident happened, Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Chief Stephen Gollan said. The process involves adding sections to the tower of the crane to elevate it as the building grows taller.
“This could have been a whole lot worse,” he added, noting that the crane collapse occurred shortly before rush hour traffic on a heavily traveled Southeast Third Avenue.
Traffic cleared to continue
Marine traffic along the New River in the area was also cleared to continue after being halted on Thursday for an investigation into the structural integrity of the bridge, according to a city spokeswoman.
By Friday morning the bridge had been deemed “repaired" and "functional,” the city’s website read. A spokesman for FDOT also confirmed that the bridge was operational.
The route — that leads boats from the Atlantic Ocean to Fort Lauderdale's many marinas along the New River — is one of the busiest waterways in South Florida.
READ MORE: Latest: One dead, others injured after crane falls in Fort Lauderdale
