LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY “Basically it was 60 to zero.When we hit the dock everybody went flying.” Steve Mann, a passenger on a ferry that crashed as it was docking in Lower Manhattan Article, this page7 injured by toppling crane in NYC

NEW YORK - A large crane collapsed onto a building under construction near the East River waterfront Wednesday, injuring seven people, three of them seriously.

A two-story framework for the residential building at 46-10 Center Blvd. in the New York City borough of Queens had been erected when the red crane toppled and went sprawling across it about 2:30 p.m., just behind a big neon “Pepsi Cola” sign, a local landmark.

Media accounts differed on the size of the mobile crane, with some reporting it was 170 feet, 200 feet, 300 feet and 380 feet.

The three people who were seriously injured were in stable condition.

Three people had to be pulled from underneath the crane, Deputy Fire Chief Mark Ferran said.

The building is one of several luxury towers being developed by TF Cornerstone. Several neighboring buildings that are part of the project, known as EastCoast, are already completed and filled with residents.

The crane did not appear to have damaged any other buildings.

No charges for driver in float crash

MIDLAND, Texas - A grand jury on Wednesday declined to indict the driver of a parade float involved in a train collision that killed four U.S. military veterans.

Dale Andrew Hayden, the driver of the truck pulling the float, will not face charges stemming from the Nov. 15 accident that killed four veterans who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sixteen other people were injured.

Though the 12-person grand jury did not indict Hayden, it “has not concluded its review of the incident,” according to a news release from Midland County District Attorney Teresa Clingman. Clingman declined to comment further.

The wound veterans and their wives were riding on a flatbed truck that was hit by a Union Pacific train traveling at 62 mph.

The accident remains under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Last killer in ’07 case gets 195 years

NEWARK, N.J. - The last of six defendants convicted in a schoolyard triple murder was sentenced Wednesday to 195 years in prison.

What happened behind the Mount Vernon School on the night of Aug. 4, 2007, was “evil incarnate,” state Superior Court Judge Michael Ravin told the gallery as he sentenced Gerardo Gomez to three consecutive terms of 60 years each on three murder counts and 15 more years on an attempted-murder count.

Gomez, who turned 15 on the night of the murders, was one of six men and boys with ties to the MS-13 street gang who pleaded guilty to or was convicted of the crimes. Four other defendants are serving multiple consecutive life sentences, and a fifth received 30 years in exchange for his testimony.

In all, the six defendants are serving sentences totaling 1,082 years.

The victims - Iofemi Hightower, 20, Terrance “T.J.” Aeriel, 18, Dashon Harvey, 20, and a fourth friend who survived the attack - were enrolled or about to enroll at Delaware State University. The fourth victim, who testified for the prosecution, isn’t being named by The Associated Press because of sexual-assault charges against two defendants.

Cathedral in D.C. sets same-sex policy

WASHINGTON - The Washington National Cathedral, where the nation gathers to mourn tragedies and celebrate new presidents, will soon begin hosting same-sex marriages.

Cathedral officials announced its new policy Wednesday, making it among the first Episcopal congregations to implement a new rite of marriage for homosexual, bisexual and transgender members.

The 106-year-old cathedral has long been a spiritual center for the nation, hosting presidential inaugural services and funerals for Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his last sermon there in 1968. The cathedral draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

The Very Rev. Gary Hall, the cathedral’s dean, said performing same-sex marriages is an opportunity to break down barriers and build a more inclusive community “that reflects the diversity of God’s world.”

Front Section, Pages 4 on 01/10/2013