MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. – A crane fell over onto an empty Merritt Island home on Wednesday, causing dozens of homes to be left without water.
The incident happened on Mackeral Avenue.
The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office said there was no one home at the time, and no injuries were reported.
News 6 Community Correspondent Erik von Ancken spoke with a manager of Big Iron International, the crane company, who said the crane had been set up on top of a water line and the weight of the crane crushed it, causing water to spew out and softening the ground underneath. The crane then toppled over.
The company said the water line did not show up when locating utilities assessed the area.
The manager told News 6 the crane operator saw it happening and yelled for everyone in the area to get out of the way.
The incident happened while they were trying to install a telephone pole.
Meanwhile, dozens of homes were left without water on Wednesday night as crews continued working to lift the massive crane from the home.
Cocoa city officials said the incident impacted around 80 homes, and several residents said they hope to have their water restored by Thursday.
“My house is destroyed,” homeowner Jim Crane said. “We’ve been in the house for 40 years. I raised my entire family in that house. All my kids grew up there.”
Many were left in shock after the crane toppled over and fell onto Crane’s home — including their friend Rich Civitare, who said their kids grew up playing together.
“The homeowner is not very happy. He takes a lot of pride in his house. It’s a nice house and he’s been working on it all along,” Civitare said.
“Pretty much everybody in Surfside, this development, is out of water,” another resident said. “Like I said, we can flush the toilets but we can’t shower.”
Merritt Island resident Russ Olivo said there was no warning before the water shut off.
“The only advance warning I had was from a neighbor who actually witnessed the thing. He said he expected us to lose water pressure, and he was right,” Olivo explained.
[VIDEO BELOW: Mark Lehman reports from crash site]
Utility crews with the city of Cocoa arrived Thursday morning to restore water service after the crane was removed.
“I mean, how do you not disclose a waterline?” one resident remarked. “I’m sure the water company will be pointing fingers at the power company, and the power company will be pointing fingers at the water company.”
No other information has been released.
This is a developing story and will be updated with more information.