For the first time since the tragic Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, families of the victims will be voicing their anguish and calls for accountability. As reported by Fox Baltimore, a gathering is scheduled for Tuesday at noon where Maria del Carmen Castellón, wife of the late Miguel Luna, will address the impact of the catastrophe that claimed the lives of six Latin American immigrant construction workers in late March.
Amidst their grief, three of the families are set on a course for legal action against the owners of the ship involved in the collapse, who are being accused of negligence. The families aim to hold Grace Ocean Private Limited accountable. According to CBS News, the Singapore-based company owned the Dali, whose collision with the bridge resulted in its partial destruction and significant economic disturbances. Matthew Wessler of Gupta Wessler LLP detailed plans to seek monetary compensation for the bereaved families before a critical federal court deadline.
CASA, an advocacy group aiding the workers' families, has been pressing for financial restitution and improved labor protections and work permits. Gustavo Torres, CASA's executive director, described those lost to the disaster as hardworking individuals rooted in pursuing the American dream. Their work, rigorous and oft-overlooked, has formed the backbone of the economic edifice they sought to uphold and now, with their blood, moralize.
Maria del Carmen Castellón, through a conversation within her home in Glen Burnie, relayed the acute hollowness left by the passing of her husband, as detailed by CBS News. Their shared ambitions, interwoven with the daily labor of their food truck and the distant wish of a restaurant, remain defiant against oblivion's beckoning. Even as Castellón honors her husband's memory by serving workers who mirror the image of her fallen spouse, she urges a collective remembrance, charging us “not to forget” those who perished for infrastructural advancements of the United States. She insists her husband and his five coworkers must be recognized as heroes.
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