Washington ? A 210-foot construction crane collapsed and struck three buildings, killing a 31-year-old man inside a top floor apartment that was crushed, authorities said.

The crane was working on a vacant office building in downtown Bellevue, a Seattle suburb, when it toppled Thursday night, fire department Lt. Bruce Kroon said. The operator told rescue personnel he was preparing to shut down for the night when he heard a crack just before the crane plummeted.

The crane operator suffered minor injuries but was able to pull himself out of the cage, which was about 20 to 30 feet above the ground, Kroon said.

The King County medical examiner’s office identified the man who died as Matthew Ammon. He had worked at nearby Microsoft Corp. in the patent group of the software maker’s legal department, the company said.