Attorneys argued to a jury that a real estate development company and crane operator are both to blame for the death of 29-year-old Kiersten Smith.A multimillion-dollar negligence case from a deadly crane collapse in Old East Dallas is now at trial after a courtroom dispute over evidence.
Kiersten Smith was killed when a crane collapsed on an Old East Dallas apartment complex nearly four years ago during a severe storm. Smith’s fiancé was able to make his way out of the rubble. He found Smith and attempted CPR. She was later pronounced dead at the hospital. He told the jury, "The developer of the neighboring property under construction, Greystar, had no weather monitoring policies. The crane was out of inspection for two months. It was not placed in weather-vane mode and was not facing the right direction. There was also a Greystar advertisement-style sign at the top of the crane. Plaintiffs argued the sign grabbed the wind contributing to the collapse.