NORTH MIAMI, Fla. – A construction worker’s tragic death in an accident Monday came just days before his baby boy is supposed to be born.
Gabriel “Gabe” Alvarez was working at a construction site near the entrance to Florida International University’s Biscayne Bay Campus in North Miami when a piece of heavy machinery fell on him and another man.
Alvarez died at the scene while the other victim was taken to a nearby hospital.
Those closest to Alvarez say he was a loving husband and father grew up in South Florida and was in the cigar and construction industries. A close friend said there wasn’t a thing he wouldn’t do for his family.
Alvarez and his wife Grace Sotolongo-Alvarez were excited to expand their family with their first boy. She posted a heartfelt tribute on social media, writing “I love you. I forever will love you and I will make sure our kids always know you and know all of the dreams and hopes you had for them. You’ve taken a piece of my heart and soul with you.”
Sotolongo-Alvarez is scheduled for a C-section this coming Monday.
“I know you will give me strength and I know at this moment you are meeting our son before he makes his grand entrance,” she wrote to her husband on social media.
Members of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating the construction accident that took place at Biscayne Boulevard and Northeast 151st Street.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to support Alvarez’s family. To see more info and to donate, click here.