Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis responded Saturday to the dramatic crane incident that killed a worker, injured three others and damaged a bridge in the city’s downtown two days before, describing it as “unusual” but adding that the city could potentially do more to oversee construction projects.
A large, blue piece of steel from a tower crane at the Gables Riverwalk construction site at 333 N. New River Drive E. had smashed into two cars on the Southeast Third Avenue drawbridge about 4:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon, landing on top of a van and crushing the passenger side of the vehicle. The front of a Tesla was also severely damaged.
“We all realize this was a terrible accident and it’s clear that the city perhaps needs to be more hands-on in terms of ensuring the best practices are observed in constructing these buildings,” Trantalis told the South Florida Sun Sentinel Saturday afternoon. “At our next commission meeting we will discuss this. But keep in mind there have been dozens of buildings built in the city over last 20 years and we’ve never had an accident like this.”
The accident killed 27-year-old Jorge De La Torre, a traveling construction worker from Atlanta with a young son, according to his family. Officials, including Trantalis, said it was lucky that more people were not injured or killed considering that the crash happened during rush hour in the congested downtown area.
In the days since, some residents pointed to the accident as the consequence of over-development and lack of oversight. One neighboring resident had complained about safety issues at the same construction site to both OSHA and the city. The same construction company he complained about had received multiple OSHA violations last year for failing to protect against falls.
Trantalis acknowledged that nearby residents had complained about the project but said that their complaints largely had to do with the building blocking their views, not safety.
“This is an urban setting, and these kinds of situations will continue to evolve as buildings are built next to one another,” he said. “But there was never a concern about safety or risk during these public meetings and for good reason, because we don’t have a history of that.”
Gary Grayson, the resident who had complained to OSHA, said he had also complained to the city commission about the construction for several years. According to minutes from a February 2021 commission meeting, he gave a video presentation “illustrating his opposition to the Project due to the small lot size, setbacks and wind studies,” with which other residents had voiced agreement. In a June 2023 presentation, he spoke about code enforcement violations and mentioned a lack of netting to protect people from falling objects.
Responding to critics who cited over-development as a cause, Trantalis said he had “anticipated voices against development would become sharpened as a result of this incident.”
“However, we are continuing to follow the path of the downtown master plan,” he said. “These buildings are consistent with what the community had agreed to many years ago. The commission is just following those guidelines, and nothing has changed.”
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Chief Stephen Gollan told reporters Thursday that the workers were in the process of “stepping” the crane, where sections are added to the tower crane to elevate it as the under-construction building grows taller. A platform holding equipment failed, he said, not the crane itself. De La Torre’s brother, Brandon, said that a cable had snapped, causing the piece to fall.
While the city wants to get to the bottom of what caused the accident, Trantalis said he did not want to “pre-judge” what happened or how it could have been prevented.
“We like to think it was an unusual situation,” he said. “Our hearts go out to the family members of the deceased, their friends, their coworkers. We want to continue to be able to build our city in a safe and proportionate way, and we’re prepared to listen to experts on next best steps as the construction process continues.”
Commissioner Warren Sturman, who represents the district where the accident took place, did not return voicemails Friday or Saturday.
Immediately after the incident, two people were hospitalized, one with only minor injuries. A third person who was injured refused to be taken to the hospital. No additional information was available Saturday.
Fort Lauderdale Police identified four people “directly involved” in the accident as Gemmalyn Castillo, 37; Carol Zinser, 69; Gregory Garcia, 43; and Mark Cerezin, 56, the driver whose Tesla was struck by the chunk of crane as he was driving across the bridge. Zinser did not return a voicemail Saturday. Castillo and Garcia could not be reached.
Staff writer Angie DiMichele contributed to this report.
