Wife of Late Funeral Home Worker Says He Left a Voicemail After Vault Fell on Him: ‘He Told Me He Loved Me’

The widow of a 24-year-old Texas funeral home employee who was crushed by a burial vault weighing around 2,000 pounds is sharing her heartbreak following his death.

The victim, identified as Angel Anthony Rojas, was working as a machine operator at Restland Funeral Home in Dallas when the tragic incident occurred. His wife, Nataly Galaviz, told CBS Texas that Rojas called her while he was trapped, just moments before he died.

“My husband was pinned under a vault pleading for help and pleading for air. He just wanted to be held and was scared. He told me he wanted to go home,” Galaviz told the outlet.
“He told me he loved me and he wanted to go home,” she added in a separate interview with ABC affiliate WFAA.

Galaviz shared that she and Rojas welcomed their son, Angel Noel, when Rojas was 19. Since then, he had worked tirelessly to support his young family.
“He was our foundation,” she said. “He wanted a home. We were just talking about a home the week before he passed. What any man wants is a home full of love — and a job that could make that possible. That’s what Angel’s goals were.”

Attorney Matthew Graham, who represents Galaviz, told WFAA that the family is “gathering information to see if a lawsuit will be necessary.”

“We believe it is grossly negligent of Restland to have put him in that position and to have caused his death,” Graham said.

According to WFAA, Rojas was trapped for about 45 minutes before rescuers freed him and transported him to a hospital, where he later died.

Graham emphasized that Rojas should not have been working alone.

“There is no way on earth this man should have been operating that machinery by himself. He shouldn’t have been working alone or moving objects of that weight alone,” he said.

Dallas Fire-Rescue officials reported that the accident happened around 2 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 20, at the Greenville Avenue funeral home, according to NBC affiliate KXAS and FOX affiliate KDFW.

Spokesperson Jason Evans told The Dallas Morning News that the first responders used specialized tools — including spreaders, sometimes called the “jaws of life,” and air bags — to lift the heavy vault off Rojas.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is currently investigating the incident, according to Fox 10.

Restland Funeral Home released a statement to WFAA expressing condolences:

“We are saddened by the loss of our long-standing valued employee. We are cooperating with the authorities to determine the cause. His family and his fellow Restland employees need our support, and we ask that we all give them space and time to grieve.”