Crane Topples Crushes Multiple Jersey Homes (Video)

A quiet New Jersey neighborhood was rocked Thursday morning when a massive crane suddenly tipped over and crashed into two homes, tearing through one homeowner’s garage and leaving behind major structural damage.

Miraculously, no one was hurt.

The frightening accident happened shortly before 10 a.m. on Sunny Hill Terrace in River Vale, a Bergen County community northwest of New York City.

River Vale police said a private contractor was working at a residence when the ground beneath the commercial crane gave way, causing the equipment to overturn and slam into the roofs of two neighboring homes.

Homeowner Dina DeMayo was inside her house when everything began to go wrong.

According to CBS New York, DeMayo had hired the crew to remove a rotting tree from her property. The crane truck had been positioned in the yard and workers were deploying its outriggers — the heavy stabilizing legs that extend outward to keep the vehicle steady during lifting operations.

But one of those supports apparently landed directly over an underground concrete seepage tank that the crew did not know was there.

Fire officials said the ground gave way beneath the outrigger, throwing the truck off balance and sending the crane boom crashing toward the homes.

DeMayo recalled hearing workers yell moments before the impact.

She grabbed her cat and began running before hearing a tremendous crash. When she looked outside, she realized the object that had torn into her home was not a falling tree but the crane itself.

The boom ripped through her garage, causing severe damage.

“It split the garage,” DeMayo told ABC7, saying she immediately called 911 and was instructed to leave the house.

The crane did not stop there.

Its boom stretched onto the neighboring property and also damaged the roof of a second home, according to police and aerial footage from the scene.

Neighbor Ilene Levin said she was walking her dog when she watched the disaster unfold.

She described seeing the truck slowly begin to tip before the crane came crashing down.

Despite the violent impact, authorities confirmed that no residents, workers or first responders were injured. NBC New York reported that a cat also had to be rescued from one of the affected homes.

The River Vale Police Department responded at approximately 9:55 a.m., while the River Vale Fire Department, municipal Building Department and utility crews from PSE&G were brought in to secure the damaged properties and make sure there were no additional hazards.

Fire officials told CBS that crews found no gas leak and no neighborhood power outage related to the collapse. Three heavy wreckers were brought in to stabilize the overturned truck, and officials said the crane boom would need to be cut into sections before it could safely be removed.

The incident also created an especially painful complication for DeMayo.

She told NBC New York that she had been preparing to put the house up for sale the following week.

Still, she said the tree company moved quickly to deal with the aftermath and told her its insurance would address damage to both properties.

CBS identified the contractor as Downes Tree Service. The outlet said the company declined to comment when contacted, while DeMayo said company representatives had already begun contacting electricians and contractors about repairs.

Exactly how much the damage will cost has not yet been disclosed.

The accident highlights why crane outriggers require a stable supporting surface. These supports can carry enormous loads while a crane is operating, meaning underground tanks, voids or unexpectedly soft ground can become dangerous if the surface cannot withstand the pressure.

In this case, authorities have not accused the contractor of wrongdoing. Police have described the immediate cause as the ground giving way beneath the crane while work was underway.

By Thursday afternoon, crews remained at the scene assessing the damage and working through the complicated process of removing the overturned equipment.

For DeMayo and her neighbor, the next steps will likely involve structural inspections before damaged portions of the homes can be repaired and safely occupied again.

For now, the biggest relief is that a collapse dramatic enough to rip through two houses somehow ended without anyone being physically injured.