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Crane Inspector May Have Been At Fault In 2008 Accident

NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- The building inspector who didn't check a cable involved in a crane collapse last week was the same one who performed the inspection on a crane involved in a fatal accident in 2008.

Ten days after Patrick McGarrigle inspected a crane on East 91st Street it crashed to the ground and killed two people.

McGarrigle, 48, says that he has never operated a tower crane, however he is licensed to operate mobile cranes; he has been working for the Department of Buildings since 2004.

Tuesday's 7-train catastrophe, which left a worker dead, could have been avoided if McGarrigle had taken the crane out of service, according to experts.

City Officials told the post that McGarrigle's inspections was not the sole possible cause of the disaster.

"Our engineers are focusing their investigation on the operation and maintenance history of the crane," said Buildings spokesman Tony Sclafani.

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