Crane collapses in Bellevue

A large crane and pile-driving rig collapsed across two lakefront properties Monday in Bellevue, sending the driver scrambling for safety and frightening neighbors.

Patrick Foulon, who lives on Lake Washington a few houses from the accident in the 70 block of Cascade Key in the Newport Shores neighborhood, said his family was about to take a spin in its boat at about 2 p.m. when his mom gasped, and said "Oh my god."

They looked up and saw the rig, which he estimated at 80 feet tall and which towered above trees and homes, swaying from side to side. Then it fell, he said, landing with a sound like two trains crashing.

Foulon said workers had been demolishing a house and doing some construction on the site over the past few days.

Workers on the site said the pile-driving rig, which was mounted on tank-style tracks, had begun to sink in soft soil. The driver had stayed aboard to swivel the rig away from any houses or people before jumping clear as it toppled, they said.

Bruce McDowell, vice president of pile-driving equipment supplier McDowell Northwest, said the workers' story sounded "about right" but declined to elaborate.

"At this time we are doing everything we can to get the crane righted," he said. "There are no injuries at the job site. I'd rather not get into any more detail."

Officer Greg Grannis, a spokesman with the Bellevue Police Department, said that because there had been no 911 calls or injuries as a result of the accident — and because it happened on private property — there was no call for police involvement at this time.

Crane safety has become a hot-button issue after a series of recent accidents across the country.

Less than two weeks ago, a 30-story crane collapsed at a Houston oil refinery, killing four workers.

In Bellevue, a 210-foot tower crane collapsed November 2006, killing 31-year-old Microsoft attorney Matthew Ammon, who was in his apartment at the time. Flawed engineering at the crane's base was blamed in that accident.

Seattle Times news researcher Gene Balk, Seattle Times photographer Greg Gilbert and Seattle Times reporter Jennifer Sullivan contributed to this report. Nick Perry: 206-515-5639 or nperry@seattletimes.com