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Heartbreaking last words of funeral home worker who called his wife while being crushed to death by a concrete burial vault
A 24-year-old father and husband died after a concrete burial vault fell on him while working at a Dallas funeral home.
Angel Anthony Rojas was employed at Restland Funeral Home, Cemetery & Crematory when he became trapped on October 20. The concrete vault, weighing around 2,000 pounds, pinned him from the waist down while he was preparing it for a burial.
As he lay severely injured, Rojas made two phone calls. First, he called for help. Then, realizing how grave the situation was, he dialed his wife and left her a final message.
“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.”
He left a voicemail no family should ever have to hear
Rojas was still conscious after the vault fell on him and used his phone to reach out. “Angel Rojas, 24, first tried calling for help as he was pinned at work - then phoned his wife for a final goodbye.”
She later listened to the voicemail that would be his last words to her.
Emergency responders arrived at the scene and worked for more than 45 minutes to free Rojas. Dallas fire officials said the effort required hydraulic spreaders and air bags - equipment typically used in car-wreck extractions. He was taken to the hospital but did not survive.
Rojas had taken the job to support his young family. “Rojas took the job at the cemetery to provide for his wife and their son, Angel Noel, who turns 4 next month.”
The accident occurred just as the couple had started discussing buying their first home together, per CBS News.
Family questions why he was alone
His loved ones are now focused on accountability. “Now Rojas’ family is accusing the mortuary of gross negligence and is considering a lawsuit.”
“There’s no way on earth this man should have been operating that machinery alone,” said the family’s attorney, Matthew Graham.
“He shouldn’t have been working alone. He shouldn’t have been moving things of that weight alone.”
An official investigation is ongoing. The family says that more safety measures should have been in place to prevent the accident, especially given the weight of the materials involved and the physical risks of the job.
Rojas’ death has drawn public sympathy and support online, with many expressing shock that such an incident could happen in a professional setting where safety should be standard.
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