Officials: North Carolina bridge worker was crushed by crane

RODANTHE, N.C. (AP) — An employee who died while working on a bridge on North Carolina’s Outer Banks was crushed by a crane, officials said.

Emergency responders found the man pinned by a crane just before 1 p.m. Monday, The Virginian-Pilot quoted Dare County Sheriff’s Office Major Jeff Derringer as saying.

The employee, who was not immediately identified, worked for the project contractor, a spokesman for the North Carolina Department of Transportation said Tuesday.

Work on the bridge was stopped during the investigation.

The 2.4-mile-long (4-kilometer-long) bridge juts out from N.C. 12 in Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge over the Pamlico Sound before the village of Rodanthe. That part of the road is often flooded with storm surge.

Construction began two years ago. The bridge is expected to be completed next year.