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Crane comes crashing down in Leominster Tuesday, no injuries reported

A crane came crashing down in Leominster on Tuesday afternoon narrowly missing a house as it slammed to the ground.

“I actually watched the crane come down, it was pretty terrifying,” said Julie Amell.

Amell lives next door and hired a company to clear some trees. She saw the crash with her own eyes. The tree company parked in her driveway, and that, she said, is what caused the crane to topple.

“Apparently, there was an old well that was under the paved driveway, which we didn’t know about. Nobody knew about it,” Amell said.

She watched as the crane operator leaped for his life.

“He just jumped out from the crane. Makes me scared just to talk about it a little bit,” Amell said.

Scary to watch, and even more so for homeowner Shawn Conger. His ring camera captured the crane slamming to the ground and just missing his house.

“If that tree wasn’t there in the yard, it would have crushed the house,” Conger said.

That tree – now sheared in half – deflected the crane into the yard. That’s the same place where Conger’s two young children often play.

“I’m just thankful that tree was there, nobody was walking by and my family wasn’t in the yard or in the house because it could have totally been a different situation,” Conger said.

Neighbors there agree. In fact, this is the most common phrase heard today on Outlook Drive:

“I think it’s a miracle no one was injured,” said Becky Shell, who lives next door.