Tragic accident clouds our Top 10 countdown.
In an ideal world, the top three most-read DemolitionNews stories of 2011 would be of a cheery and festive nature, and the story that claimed the #1 spot in our annual round-up of most-read stories would come as an unexpected but welcome surprise.
Sadly, this website – like the industry it serves – is fixed in the real world where tragedy is never more than a heartbeat away, and where narrative is never quite so neat and tidy.
So when you know that our follow up on the tragic death of industry pioneer Ad Swanink in an accident involving the world’s largest high reach excavator comes in at #3, you can probably take an educated guess about the story that claimed the top spot.
Our follow up, which came just a day or two after the accident, merely scratched the surface of the likely cause. It was a full two months later that further facts would be revealed, exonerating Rusch.
That said, this initial attempt at explaining such a tragic loss of life attracted over 3,000 page views in the past 12 months, and is still viewed regularly today.
