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By Alex Johnson
Of the four people who were killed when a crane fell from a downtown Seattle building in the traffic below, university officials said Sunday.
The Pacific University of Seattle identified this woman as Sarah Wong, who was in a busy street car on Mercer Street when the crane collapsed on six vehicles at the intersection of Mercer and Fairview Avenue shortly before 15 30. Saturday.
The university gave no other information on Sunday, but the Seattle Times reported that Wong was coming from South Pasadena, California, and that she was hoping to become a neonatal nurse.
Three men, including two crane operators, were also killed. The King County Medical Examiner's office said he would not identify them until Monday.
The International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Ironworkers has confirmed that two of the victims were members of the union.
Harborview Medical Center said Sunday that a 28-year-old man remained in satisfactory condition. A 25-year-old woman and her 4-month-old baby were treated and discharged on Saturday, the paper said. A fourth person was treated on site for minor injuries.
The site manager, Vulcan Inc., said it; the general contractor GLY Construction of Bellevue (Washington); and three subcontractors cooperated with the investigation, which, according to Tim Church, spokesman for the Seattle Department of Labor and Industries, could take six months.
"No one should ever have to go to work and not come home from work," Church said.
Sam Zimbabwe, director of Seattle's transportation department, told reporters that the traffic scene was very busy and that the affected roads could remain blocked on Monday, noting that the affected roads could remain closed until Monday evening.
This is because the crane needs to be moved to stabilize the building's facade and that damage to the roadway still needs to be repaired, said Zimbabwe.
"We are only beginning to understand what has happened," he said.
Mark Lawless, a specialist in construction safety and cranes in Seattle, told KING, an NBC affiliate, that accidents like Saturday's were "rare and spaced".
"But when they happen, they are serious," Lawless said.
The last fatal crane crash in Washington occurred in Bellevue, a suburb of Seattle, in 2006, when a crane fell into a building and killed a resident. The accident was attributed to a faulty design of the foundations and inadequate maintenance of the crane base.
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