Vita Bella Court crane accident leaves man dead

A man has died after his crane rolled off a rural Gold Coast road into a creek after first responders were unable to reach him in time.

The 69-year-old was driving the vehicle at a residence in Vita Bella Court, in the Gold Coast’s Currumbin Valley, on Thursday morning.

The machine then rolled down a steep slope.

The 69-year-old was driving the vehicle at a residence in Vita Bella Court, in the Gold Coast’s Currumbin Valley, on Thursday morning.

Emergency services were called around 8:30 am, with both fire and ambulance services finding the man trapped in the machine.

Superintendent Scott Knowles said that while the man was initially believed to be alive, the crane’s precarious position made it difficult for emergency services to reach him.

“Queensland Fire and Ambulance Service were on scene and trying to rescue this person. Unfortunately, he died on the spot as a result of the injuries he sustained in that accident,” he said.

The process was further complicated by fuel leakage and the ‘precarious position’ of the crane, which had rolled from the embankment into a creek.

Despite unsuccessful attempts to wake the driver, emergency services believed he may have been unconscious in the vehicle when they first arrived on scene.

The man was trapped in the crane after it rolled down a steep embankment into Currumbin Creek. Image: 9 News

“In terms of trying to recover the driver safely, at that point we believe he was alive, (but) there was clearly also a risk to the first responders who were there,” Superintendent Knowles said.

“Unfortunately he was dead by the time we got to the driver.”

While the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident is ongoing, police believe the man was merely taking the crane for a ‘test drive’ and was not operating it for any work activity.

The incident has also been reported to Workplace Health and Safety Queensland.