More than one year after a New Jersey man died in a crane accident in Manhatten, his family has reached a settlement.
The parents of a construction worker killed in a New York City crane accident have settled their wrongful death lawsuit for $1 million.
The Daily News reports Yonkers insurance company Liberty Mutual agreed to settle the suit filed by Colleen and Michael Simermeyer. The settlement was reached without admission of wrongdoing from crane owner Yonkers Contracting.
The company didn't return calls seeking comment.
Thirty-year-old Michael Simermeyer of Burlington, N.J., was crushed when a tractor crane collapsed on April 3, 2012, at the No. 7 subway extension projection in Manhattan. One other person was hospitalized in serious condition and three people were treated for minor injuries.
A federal investigation determined the cable holding up the 160-boom was frayed before it snapped. Investigators have said the accident was preventable had the proper procedures been followed.
Yonkers Contracting is contesting the findings.
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At the time of the deadly accidnt, dozens of first responders came to the accident site. Standing on a sidewalk, one construction laborer collapsed in tears into the arms of another worker. A laborer could be heard saying: "I can't take it."
Thomas Rushkin, a retired city police officer and private investigator, said he was on his way home when he saw emergency vehicles heading over and got a glance at the pieces of the crane.
"The arm is broken in half," he said, adding that it appeared that one part of the crane was on a level below the street.
Another witness, Kennon Murphy, of Charlotte, N.C., said he was on his way to the nearby Javits Convention Center when he heard "a big boom.'' He said of the crane: "We noticed it was down."
