What to Know
- Fierce evening thunderstorms in New Jersey knocked down a large construction crane in New Brunswick on Sunday
- The crane smashed through the rooftop of a home with a woman inside, but luckily she was not injured
- City engineers and the construction company are working on how they will remove the crane
Fierce evening thunderstorms in New Jersey knocked down trees, power lines and even a construction crane, which collapsed onto a New Brunswick home with one person inside but she was not injured.
Heavy winds picked up Sunday night in Middlesex County and caused a construction crane at the corner of Hamilton and Easton Avenue to twist and fall onto a house being rented by Rutgers students, according to a New Brunswick fire inspector who was on assignment in the area.
The giant crane smashed through the rooftop of the home with a woman inside, but luckily she was not injured. It also damaged two other units of a townhouse behind the destroyed residence and brought down wires, firefighters said.
One of the home's resident, Heather Harris, tells News 4 she was caught in the rain at a nearby park and came home to the damage.
"Our house is unlivable. My car is behind the house, I'm not sure how it looks now. The house has eight girls that live there. It's a lot of people who are affected," Harris said.
Local
City engineers and the construction company are working on how they will remove the crane.
The crane was on location for the construction of a luxury student living complex, according to developer Collegiate Development Group's website.
A severe thunderstorm also hit Somerset and Bridgewater, New Jersey, on Sunday night, downing trees and utility wires and bringing small hail, according to damage reports from the National Weather Service.
More than 53,000 customers of other utilities across the tri-state were without power Sunday evening.
