Funeral worker crushed to death by underground tomb in ‘freak accident’

The family of a funeral home worker have said they have been left in shock after the man was accidentally crushed to death.

Angel Anthony Rojas, who was just 24, was working at the Restland Funeral Home in Dallas, when he was killed on Monday, the Daily Mail reported.

Emergency services were called to the scene at around 2pm after receiving reports that a man was trapped from the waist down under a vault. It is understood that it had fallen on him. 

A burial vault is a sturdy container that is usually made of concrete or metal and encases a coffin to protect it from the earth. They can weigh between 2,000 to 2,700 pounds, which is roughly the same weight as a grand piano.

Firefighters lifted the heavy object off the man, according to The Dallas Morning News. They used air bags and a tool called a ‘spreader’ that’s deployed to pull people trapped under vehicles or collapsed buildings to remove the vault. 

He suffered from severe injuries to his lower body and died in the Texas Health Presbyterian hospital just before 3:30pm.

In a tribute to him on social media, his sister wrote: ‘My heart hurts so much. It can’t be true. I just wanna wake up from this horrible dream.’ 

She later posted on Facebook: ‘I’m so numb. I lost my brother today. You’re never promised tomorrow. It’s crazy.

‘I’m in shock. 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.’

Metro has approached Restland Funeral Home for comment.

Crush injuries can be fatal. Crush Syndrome occurs after prolonged compression of the skeletal muscles.

Muscles break down and release cell products like potassium into the bloodstream causing potentially life threatening complications including renal failure and cardiac arrhythmias.

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