Drilling rig rolls into home near Zephyr Cove; Highway 50 to close

ZEYPHR COVE - Highway 50 between Spooner Summit and Stateline will be closed most of today while crews remove a drilling rig that rolled down the hillside after the pavement supporting it gave way Thursday.

The multi-ton rig's metal tower crashed into a home next to Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference Center about 9:30 a.m.

"It was a big crushing noise with wood breaking," said Karen Smith of Dallas, who is renting a home near the one damaged in the mishap.

No one was inside the caretaker's residence at 678 Highway 50 when the rig toppled into it. The rig operator, who declined to comment, escaped injuries by jumping out of the machine before it overturned.

Two bedrooms and a bathroom were smashed in the accident. The Nevada Department of Transportation, which is in charge of the construction project, positioned braces around the rig to ensure it does not roll farther down hill and damage more homes.

Transportation officials called for a crane to safely remove the drilling rig and will close the highway from 7 a.m.-2 p.m. while the extraction takes place.

"We're doing the investigation right now," said Dave Titzel, NDOT assistant district engineer. "We'll figure out whose fault it is. But that's not the important thing right now. We're making sure everybody is safe and the area is safe."

The rig appeared to have toppled onto the house after an old retaining wall gave way and a chunk of pavement as long as the base of the drilling rig broke from the side of the highway.

The rig was there to drill holes for iron rebar and cement pilings designed to support a new wall, officials at the scene said.

Occupational Safety Hazard Administration officials were also investigating the accident.

Contact Gregory Crofton at gcrofton@tahoedailytribune.com or (530) 542-8045.