New Caterpillar high reach involved in incident at high profile Detroit contract.
The demolition of Detroit’s Ford Auditorium had become the figurehead for an ongoing rejuvenation of the Motor City under Mayor Bing’s tutelage. And when Adamo Demolition Co. touted its purchase and use of a new high reach excavator to demolish the landmark building, it seemed to signify the “out with the old, in with the new” philosophy that has characterised the ongoing demolition drive in the city.
But just hours after it was lauded as the future of demolition efficiency, the new machine was lying on its side, surrounded by rubble after an accident that – at first glance – appears to have been caused by over-reaching and an unexpected partial building collapse. And certainly the video (below) suggests that the operator was using the machine to pull the building down rather than to cut it.
Representatives from locally-based Adamo Demolition Co. have apparently declined comment except to say the incident is being investigated. But the fact that the incident was caught on video by a pedestrian will merely add fuel to the speculation fire that is burning through the industry.
Thankfully, no-one was injured in the incident. But an accident of this type will do little to help endear high reach excavators to an already underwhelmed US demolition industry.
To read more about the incident, please click here. To view the raw video of the accident, please click here. Alternatively, you can see some pre-accident footage below.
