A 24-year-old worker, Angel Rojas, died after a concrete burial vault weighing up to 2,500 pounds trapped him at Restland Funeral Home in Dallas. A litigation attorney signaled possible legal action for gross negligence, saying, “There is no way on earth this man should have been operating that machinery alone,” according to KHOU.
Firefighters freed Rojas using hydraulic tools, but he died shortly after arriving at a hospital. His widow said, “My husband was a smart worker. My husband knew the risk of a small error. My husband knew the precautions to everything he was doing. I don't know what happened. But whatever did happen, he never should have been there alone,” as per KHOU.
Nataly Galaviz shared that during a final phone call while he was trapped, her husband Angel Rojas said, “He just wanted to be held and was scared. He told me he wanted to go home.” OSHA has opened an investigation into his death, and Restland Funeral Home has not yet responded to requests for comment. The case has drawn attention to workplace safety. Graham said, “If there's one thing we can do for his memory and for this family, it's to try to keep this from happening to anybody else, to try to bring some attention to this, and shed some light on what's going on over there,” as reported by CBS News. Rojas is survived by his wife and their young son, who turns four next month.
