A crane toppled over and onto a house in New Jersey, with crews working for hours to get the massive arm off the home.
The crane fell on the Westminster Drive home in Montville around 3 p.m. Wednesday, according to the fire department. Workers were setting it up to do some tree work and it slipped off the blocks, sending it toppling over on its side and onto the roof of the home.
Footage from Chopper 4 showed the downed crane, with the truck it was on in the driveway on its side. The scene lasted for hours, as two two trucks on either side were needed to attempt hoisting the approximately 70,000-pound boom truck upright.
"The stabilizer didn’t hold, it broke and it tipped the crane over going through the house," tow company owner Mike Corigliano said, explaining what he believed happened.
In an area with heavy tree cover, Corigliano said he sometimes responds to other similar crane incidents once a week.
Neither the homeowner, Ken Rose, nor his wife were home as the tree company was looking to prune trees in the yard. There was one person, a housekeeper, inside the home at the time, but she was not hurt.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
"She was shocked, but yeah, she was OK," said neighbor Roger Patel, who spoke to her moments after the boom crashed. "Fortunately that was the theme of tonight, that a near-tragedy was averted."
News
The homeowners were looking for a temporary home for themselves and their four dogs in the aftermath of the collapse. They were also concerned about the gaping hole left in their roof just a week before they were set to host family for Thanksgiving.
It also comes the area is set to see rain for the first time in well over a month. The homeowners said they planned to stay in a hotel for Wednesday night, and hopefully with friends for the holidays.
