Falling crane crushes family’s home in California

(KTLA) – A California woman narrowly escaped injury after a crane tipped over and fell onto her home last week, causing extensive damage.  

Debra Harper, who has lived in her Loma Linda home for 37 years, said she was in the kitchen Friday, talking on the phone with her brother when the incident happened.  

“We were talking, and all of a sudden, I heard a noise that was just indescribable,” Harper told Nexstar’s KTLA. “So, I screamed. When I went to my front door, opened the door, a truck was just lying across my driveway.” 

Around 10 a.m., the crane fell on top of her garage and two bedrooms as a company contracted by the utility company Southern California Edison was trying to reach a transformer between her house and neighboring homes.  

“One of the rooms that it hit is the room that my husband is normally in, watching TV, sitting on the couch,” Harper said. “So I was just thankful he wasn’t at home.”

Neighbors said they could feel the moment the crane collapsed.

“I felt and heard what seemed to be like an earthquake,” said resident Jenelle Silvers.

Residents in the neighborhood, Harper said, were notified last week that utility crews would be doing work that could impact their electricity.

Silvers said, “Just sort of wonder who’s doing these projects and are we safe when they tell us they’re going to be doing maintenance. I guess we should have evacuated our homes.”

After the incident, Harper said she didn’t call 911 because crews were already there and she thought the situation was under control. However, a neighbor called 911 and told KTLA that he was told no one could come out unless there was a fire.  

City officials dispute that claim.  

According to the city, the contractor – who SoCal Edison said was replacing power poles – did not call 911 but instead contacted the Loma Linda Department of Public Works about three hours after the crane toppled.  

Crews were able to get the crane off of the home, but damage to the house is significant, and city officials have since yellow-tagged the structure, meaning it is not safe for the homeowners to live in it.

It’s unclear what led to the crane falling, but a spokesperson for SoCal Edison told KTLA:

“Southern California Edison is aware of the contractor incident that occurred in Loma Linda on December 1^st. The safety of our customers and communities is our top priority, and we take action to ensure the work conducted by our contractors is done safely. We are thankful no one was injured and have been in contact with the customer while we look into what happened.”  

In the meantime, Harper and her husband are staying in a hotel at their own expense and have no idea when and if they will be able to get back to living in their house.