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A young father who was fatally crushed by a burial vault at the Texas funeral home where he worked left a voicemail for his wife before he died. Angel Anthony Rojas, 24, died after the vault pinned him from the waist down at the Restland Funeral Home in Dallas on October 20. Before he succumbed to his severe injuries, Rojas phoned his wife one final time to say goodbye. The funeral home worker used his cellphone to call for help before reaching out to his wife and leaving a voicemail. 'Scared. He told me he wanted to go home,' his widow, Natalie Rojas, told WLBT. 'He told me he loved me and he wanted to go home.' Rojas was pinned under the vault for 45 minutes before firefighters could free him. A burial vault is an outer layer that lines the casket and protects it from the elements and maintenance equipment. They can be made of bronze, copper, stainless steel, and plastics, and can weigh over 2,000lbs. A spokesman for Dallas Fire-Rescue said responders were able to lift the vault off Rojas using spreaders and airbags. Rojas was taken to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, where he later died, according to the Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office public records. '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,' his widow told WLBT. 'I don't know what happened, but whatever did happen, he never should have been there alone.' Natalie has accused funeral home 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. In a statement, the Restland Funeral Home said it was 'saddened by the loss of our longstanding valued employee.' 'We are cooperating with the authorities to determine the cause.' The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating Rojas's death, WLBT reported. Police said that the young father's death was the result of an 'unfortunate accident' and no foul play or criminal activity was suspected. Rojas worked at funeral home to provide for his wife and his son, Angel Noel, who turns four years old next month. 'He was a hardworking father. Angel was amazing all around,' Natalie Rojas told WLBT. His mother, Nancy Cordova, wrote on Facebook: 'I'm so broken [I] lost my only son. I don't feel, I'm so numb. I miss you Angel everywhere I look reminds me of you, God give me strength. [I] can't do this, help me please. [I] miss your pretty face.' Rojas's sister shared a tribute to her brother on Instagram that read: 'My heart hurts so much. It can't be true. I just wanna wake up from this horrible dream.' 'I'm so numbed I lost my brother today. You're never promised tomorrow. It's crazy,' she added in a Facebook post. 'I'm in shocked. He lost his life at work thinking he was gonna come home to his family. I am so broken right now. Why did you have to call him home so early father he had his whole life. He was only 24.' A GoFundMe described Rojas as a 'loving, caring, and God-fearing family man who adored his wife and their 3-year-old son.' 'He worked hard every day to provide for us and took pride in being a machine operator — a job he did with dedication and strength, even though it ultimately claimed his life,' the fundraiser said. 'My husband made sure we never went without. He always said we were a team — and we truly were. Every day, we faced life together, hand in hand.
