BELLEVUE, WA, November 16, 2006 7:45PM-PDT - Crane Collapse Kills One, Damages Buildings

Just as the crane operator was shutting down for the night, the unthinkable happened: it collapsed. Amazingly the operator survived his bumpy ride down. A resident of the apartment building across the street was not so lucky. He was killed when the walls and ceiling of his unit were crushed by the falling heavy steel crane. Microsoft identified the man who died as Matt Ammon, 31, a lawyer in the company's patent group.

Paul Leeper and Linda Rosario, residents in the unit below his were outside looking at the scene as I took these pictures. They described the experience as a loud rumble and explosion-like noise as the equipment impacted their structure. As they told of their ordeal, I was reminded of earthquakes. Only this of course was a lot more localized.

Local media coverage

Google Maps overhead view of the scene