An accident in a construction zone along Interstate 80 in western Iowa’s Cass County has claimed the life of a Cherokee man. According to the Iowa State Patrol, the accident happened at around 3:37 PM Tuesday on I-80 westbound near the East Nishnabotna River bridge replacement construction site, just east of the Atlantic exit.
Officials say 25-year old Micheal Joseph Williams, of Cherokee, was directing a crane when he was struck by the machine’s counter-weight as the crane was in operation. Williams was pronounced dead at the scene. He was working for Godbersen-Smith Construction of Ida Grove.
Company officials were not available for comment late Tuesday evening. The incident has been turned over to OSHA for further investigation. The accident marks the second crane-related fatality to have occurred in western Iowa on I-80 in less than three-months.
In late May, 27-year old Dustin James Flinn, of Atlantic, was killed when the crane he was operating toppled over near Adair. Flinn was removing a girder from a railroad overpass bridge when the accident occurred.