Authorities have released the name of the man who died during a construction accident Tuesday morning in western Iowa. The Iowa State Patrol says 27-year-old Dustin James Flinn of Atlantic died when the crane he was operating for AM Cohron & Son Construction Incorporated toppled over as he was working on a bridge removal project in Adair County.
The accident happened at around 7:40 a.m. about a half-mile west of the Adair exit on Interstate 80. The eastbound lanes of the interstate are closed for the removal of a bridge over the Iowa Interstate Railroad. No other injuries were reported.
AM Cohron Chairman Keith Harlan said as Flinn was removing a girder from the bridge, the crane became unbalanced and began to tip over. Harlan says for some reason, Flinn chose not to release the girder from the winching wire on the boom, as the machine was being pulled down into a gap created by the removal of earlier girders. The crane’s cab ended-up nearly on it’s top on an embankment just above the railroad tracks below the bridge, while the boom and girder crashed onto the tracks.
Flinn had at least 6-years experience working with heavy equipment. He is survived by his wife and two young children, ages 4 and 2.