Crime & Safety

Crane Overturns on North Ocean Avenue

Making a left turn from LIE, tow truck's load takes a spill.

A crane being towed overturned on North Ocean Avenue in Farmingville Tuesday afternoon.

Making a left-hand turn onto North Ocean from the eastbound Long Island Expressway Service Road, the crane tilted over on its right side, gauging out part of the pavement and halting traffic for over an hour.

The Axel Anderson Towing & Recovery truck, driven by John Schroeder, 73, was in the third and farthest lane when it overturned. There were no injuries or charges, according to Suffolk County Police.

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John said he was not a full-time employee and was, "just doing someone a favor."

"Nothing happened but a chain broke, that's all you need to know," said a man who answered the phone at Axel Anderson.

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The tow truck was making an easy turn when a pin sheared and a chain came loose, Suffolk Police reported at the scene.

"I stopped and I didn't know the house turned," said Jack, pointing to the middle part of the crane that shifted. "Then I looked in the mirror and saw the house over there twisted over."

According to the driver and one police officer at the scene, the crane was supposedly headed to Africa after it was sold. Anderson was just making the delivery from one location to the next. One officer said the tow truck was on its way to get fueled when the crane overturned.

The red and white crane, which sported a crack in the windshield, was made by Bucyrus-Erie, a Ohio-based company that stopped making heavy construction machinery in 1985. It became Bucyrus International, Inc. in 1996.

Axel Anderson, based on Route 112 in Medford, would not comment on where the truck was headed or where it came from.


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