Jury awards $150 million to victims of 2019 Seattle crane collapse
Mar 15, 2022, 8:42 AM
Emergency crews work at the scene of a construction crane collapse that killed four people on April 27, 2019, in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle. A jury on Monday, March 14, 2022, awarded more than $150 million to some of the victims of the high-profile accident. (AP Photo/Joe Nicholson, File)
(AP Photo/Joe Nicholson, File)
A King County jury has awarded more than $150 million to the families of several people killed or injured when a Seattle crane collapsed in 2019 on Mercer Street.
The family of 19-year-old Sara Wong, a local college student who was killed when the construction crane smashed into a car she was in, was awarded $72 million by the King County jury Monday.
After the settlement was announced, the attorney for the family of Wong, Todd Gardner, spoke about her final moments.
“Sara, unfortunately, was pinned in the vehicle and could not breathe. She did not pass instantly,” he said. “We all hope that in those moments, if something like that happens we want to believe that it was painless and instantaneous. Unfortunately, it was not.”
A 71-year-old man in another car, as well as two men in the construction crane died that day. Several others were injured. The case resolved Monday involves two of the victims killed and three of the injured. A separate lawsuit for the two deceased iron workers starts later this year.
State regulators called the collapse of the 300 foot crane onto Mercer Street totally avoidable. It fell as crews from Northwest Tower Crane and Omega Morgan worked to dismantle it but failed to follow multiple safety protocols, including doing the work when high wind gusts were expected, and removing pins holding the crane together too early.
Attorneys say Northwest Tower Crane has admitted fault and made safety changes, but Omega Morgan continues to deny any responsibility.
A separate lawsuit for the two deceased iron workers starts later this year.
KIRO Newsradio’s Hanna Scott contributed to this report.
