A crane truck went over the barrier wall of the exit ramp from I-595 eastbound to I-95 northbound early Monday morning and fell about 50 feet onto the bocce court of a mobile home park beneath the overpass, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The truck's driver, Marc Iuen, 48, owner of Atlantic Crane Inc., was conscious and alert after the accident, but was suffering from numerous injuries, witnesses and Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue Division Chief Stephen McInerny said.
Iuen was taken to Broward General Medical Center and remained in critical condition later Monday, hospital spokeswoman Melissa Elbrand said
"He was complaining of severe neck and back pain at the scene," McInerny said. "He had an undetermined number of broken bones, lacerations, bumps and bruises."
No one on the ground was hurt.
The plummeting, 33,000-pound crane truck came to rest in a common area of the Lauder Lakes Trailer Park, nestled on the east side of I-95 just south of State Road 84. The truck was destroyed in the accident, along with a palm tree and several benches on the trailer park's bocce court.
The Romano family, who live in a trailer adjacent to the scene of the accident, heard a loud crash and felt the ground shake when the truck fell around 5:30 a.m.
"My son and I went outside to see what happened, but it was very foggy and we didn't see anything right away," said Anne Romano. She said a few minutes later, as her husband and son prepared for work, she heard someone calling for help. "At first I thought it was the television, and then I realized it was someone outside."
Romano's husband, Henry, and son, Anthony, went and took a closer look. They found Iuen lying near the truck.
"My husband stayed with him and talked to him while my son came in and called for help," Romano said. "He was hurt bad. His face was pretty messed up."
McInerny said Iuen landed on a narrow strip of land with a canal on one side and the trailer park's lake on the other. "He narrowly avoided falling into the water," McInerny said.
The Florida Highway Patrol reported that heavy fog shrouded the ramp when the accident occurred, and are investigating whether it played a role in the crash.
According to Florida driver's records, Iuen holds a valid Class B driver's license, certifying him to drive vehicles weighing more than 26,000 pounds. He has one traffic citation on his record, issued in 1999 for operating a motor vehicle in unsafe conditions or with improper equipment.
Anne Romano, whose family has been living in the shadow of the exit ramp for eight years, said this was the first time she had seen a vehicle fall off the overpass. "What we normally hear is trucks coming into the turn too fast and pulling up on their emergency brake," Romano said. "Sometimes the screeching from that wakes me up at night."
She also remembers when a concrete truck slammed into the barrier wall over their trailer, showering it and their cars with rocks. "We don't even hear the cars anymore," Romano said. "Something out of the ordinary has to happen."
