Crane tragedy highlights danger

Warning a group of citizens could be ‘wiped out’

A CORONER has questioned whether cranes should be allowed to drive through city centres amid fears an uncontrollable crane could “wipe out a group of citizens”.

Christine Leonardi and her six-year-old son Samuel died after a collision with a 20-tonne crane near Toowoomba in September 2013.

The crane in the Toowoomba incident, after colliding with the Leonardis’ ute, continued for some 60m, smashing through a fence and trees.

At an inquest in Brisbane yesterday, Coroner John Hutton asked whether cranes should be allowed in city centres.

The inquest previously examined whether cranes should be put on floats (trailers), instead of driven on public roads.

Using floats would usually add time and labour costs for businesses, but Coroner Hutton said “citizen safety is paramount”.

He added: “Employment is to the advantage of the state … and safety is to the advantage of the state.”

The inquest also examined whether the Franna AT20 crane experienced a “death wobble”.

Former crane driver Rodger Hannemann testified the crane fishtailed from side to side before the crash.

He thought accelerating would help him regain control.

Mechanical engineer Dr Robert Casey said most crane accidents involving “wobbling and snaking” happened when vehicles travelled faster than 60kmh.

“In that situation, where you’re literally fighting for your life, what you perceive and what actually happens aren’t necessarily the same things,” he told Brisbane Coroners Court.

He was not critical of the driver, but said accelerating was not the best idea in situations like the one Mr Hannemann encountered.

And he said an 80kmh limit for cranes should continue only if electronic stability systems were fitted to cranes, and drivers were trained in how to handle instability.

But even a 60kmh limit would not be a panacea.

You can still get instability, if you hit a big enough bump for example. — Dr Robert Casey

“You can still get instability, if you hit a big enough bump for example,” Dr Casey said.

The inquest continues.