Those torch towers are pretty flimsy. Even though they’re steel, they’re only attached to the ground by big bolts at the base, embedded in concrete. They’re not designed to withstand a lot of lateral force . . . it would just lever the bolts right out of the frame.
You are probably right about that. Though I saw a pic of the base where that one fell from, and they do actually sit on top of a ‘stump’ that is buried in the ground. That would seem to indicate they were lifted up before they were thrown over.