CECIL COUNTY, Md. — A roof collapse sent five workers to the hospital on Tuesday, according to authorities.
Just after 7:00 in the morning on Tuesday, construction workers began the high wire act of setting giant wooden trusses for the new roof on a massive building along Route 40 in Elkton when the crane operator got the first indication that something had gone wrong.
5 hospitalized after collapse sends crews crashing through roof in Cecil County
“He heard some hollering, stopped, because he thought they were hollering at him that he was coming in too hot, but it ended up being they were hollering, because it had collapsed,” said Singerly Fire Chief Fred Hill.
Police say the workers were attempting to install a large truss on the roof of a commercial building located along Route 40 when the structure collapsed.
“Talking to the crane operator. He was the only one left for us to talk to, because he’s not with that company,” said Hill, “He’s the one that advised us that there were 11 personnel between the people up top and bracing it so the folks that were up on the trusses, they fell approximately 30 to 40 feet.”
The incident sent the workers falling to the ground, and they were taken to the trauma center at the Christiana Hospital in Delaware with what initially appeared to be non-life-threatening injuries.
Three of the victims, which appear to have initially been knocked out during the incident, all regained consciousness.
The site of the accident will be a second location for a company that deals in large trucks and parts out of North East.
Maryland Occupational Safety and Health or MOSH will conduct an investigation into the cause of the accident.
