Police: Drunken Construction Worker Topples Crane Near Ground Zero

A 35-ton crane fell over near the World Trade Center site on Sunday, July 28 while the operator was drunk, police said. Crane Operator Noel Brolly suffered a minor hand injury. No one else was injured, officers said. Brolly was using the 100-ft. (30 m) crane to load debris onto a truck at the World Financial Center, which was damaged by the Sept. 11 collapse of the World Trade Center towers. The crane toppled onto the West Side Highway and blocked two of its four lanes, but "traffic is pretty light in that area on Sunday morning," said Police Officer Jennara Everleth. Brolly, 38, was charged with reckless endangerment. In addition to being legally intoxicated, he didn&#8217;t secure the crane to its platform, which was his responsibility, Everleth said. A telephone call to the company that owns the crane, Atlantic-Heydt National, was not immediately returned.