Vinton, LA — August 16, 2025, two people were injured in car accidents caused by a hijacked construction crane in a work zone on Interstate 10.
Authorities said a man broke into the construction crane after he apparently drove his Ram pickup off of State Highway 108 near I-10. He manipulated the crane boom over the interstate, causing four car accidents. The first was reported at about 5:30 a.m.
Two people suffered unspecified injuries in those crashes, according to authorities.
Authorities investigating the accident found the key fob for the man’s pickup inside the crane. The man was arrested on multiple felony counts, authorities said.
Authorities have not released any additional information about the Calcasieu Parish incident at this time.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
When people hear that someone hijacked a construction crane and caused multiple crashes on Interstate 10, the first thing they want to know is how that could even happen. How does someone get into a crane, operate it over a live highway and cause four separate collisions before anyone stops them?
The short answer is: we don’t know yet. But that lack of clarity raises some serious legal and investigative questions that go beyond just the actions of the man who was arrested.
Right now, the public narrative focuses on one person allegedly breaking into a crane and causing chaos. And if that’s true, it’s hard to imagine a clearer example of individual wrongdoing. But that still leaves an important layer untouched: how did this person gain access to heavy construction equipment inside an active highway work zone in the first place?
Crane controls are typically locked and secured. In many cases, keys or digital access are restricted to authorized personnel. So how did a private citizen, arriving in his personal pickup, manage to access and operate the equipment? That suggests potential lapses in site security, equipment storage or contractor oversight. Until we know who was responsible for the equipment — whether it was a contractor, a subcontractor or a public agency — we can’t say for certain whether basic safeguards were in place or followed.
We also don’t yet know the exact role the crane played in each crash. Was the boom physically striking vehicles? Were drivers swerving to avoid it and crashing as a result? The answers to those questions matter because they influence who might ultimately be held accountable. Depending on how the collisions unfolded, this could involve claims not only against the individual who allegedly caused the disruption but also against any parties whose negligence gave him the opportunity to do so.
In cases involving construction zones and heavy equipment, I’ve seen multiple layers of responsibility come into play. Just because a third party does something unexpected doesn’t mean others are off the hook, especially if they failed to anticipate that something like this could happen and didn’t take steps to prevent it.
Right now, authorities say two people were injured, but we don’t yet have details about how serious those injuries are or which of the four crashes they occurred in. And while the person accused of hijacking the crane has been arrested, that doesn’t mean the full story is out.
To really understand what went wrong here, we’d need access to site logs, surveillance footage, maintenance records and communications between contractors. In my experience, those details often reveal a very different picture from what initial reports suggest.
Key Takeaways:
- It’s unclear how a private individual was able to access and operate a construction crane over a major interstate.
- Responsibility may extend beyond the individual arrested if construction site security or supervision failed.
- Details about how the crane caused the crashes are still missing, which limits any conclusions about fault.
- Investigating who managed the work zone and what protocols were in place will be critical to understanding the incident.
- Heavy equipment in public areas requires strict controls. When those controls break down, liability can spread beyond just the person behind the controls.
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