Copyright WIS10
DALLAS (WFAA) - A funeral home in Dallas is being accused of gross negligence after a worker was crushed and killed by a concrete burial vault. The victim’s wife is now speaking out about her loss and is considering a lawsuit. Angel Rojas worked at Restland Funeral Home on Greenville Avenue. Part of his job was to move concrete burial vaults and lids to burial sites. Last Monday, a vault fell and pinned him to the ground. Angel Rojas used his cellphone to call for help. The second call was to his wife, but it went to voicemail. “Scared. He told me he wanted to go home,” Natalie Rojas, Angel Rojas’ widow, remembered. “He told me he loved me and he wanted to go home.” Attorneys representing the Rojas family accuse Restland of gross negligence. “There’s no way on earth this man should have been operating that machinery alone,” attorney Matthew Graham said. “He shouldn’t had been working alone. He shouldn’t had been moving things of that weight alone.” It allegedly took more than 45 minutes for firefighters to lift the vault. Angel Rojas died that day at a hospital. In a written response, Restland said, “We are saddened by the loss of our longstanding valued employee. We are cooperating with the authorities to determine the cause.” “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,” Angel Rojas described. “I don’t know what happened, but whatever did happen, he never should have been there alone.” Angel Rojas was 24 years old. He took the cemetery job to provide for his wife and their young son, Angel Noel, who turns 4 years old next month. “He was a hard-working father. Angel was amazing all around,” Natalie Rojas added. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating how and why Angel Rojas died, as well as who is to blame.
