Friday, friends and family will gather to remember the life of Raul Ortega Cabrera, who died in a collapse at a Dallas construction site.
He leaves behind a wife, Eva, two children and one on the way. Now, Eva's co-workers at the Fairfield Marriott in Arlington are rallying around the family.
“In a situation such as this, it’s more of a family feeling that comes out,” Fairfield Marriott general manager Nestor Estrada said. “We all know each other. We are a close-knot work family. We care about her. We love her. We hate what she is going through.”
Eva is the supervisor of housekeeping and her “work family” have started gathering money for the family along with clothing and items for the unborn child.
“The fact that there are children involved and she is seven months pregnant with another baby on the way, I cannot imagine what she is going through,” Estrada said. “It’s tough and I would like for her to get all the help that she can get.”
There is a GoFundMe account set up for the family and Estrada is reaching out the to the “Marriott family” to see if any others are willing to help.
“When you hear about something that happened to one of your [coworker’s] family members, it’s like it happened to you as well. So, it has greatly affected us,” Estrada said.
Estrada said it is hard to see a family like this going through this unimaginable tragedy.
“[The are] just hard working; looking out for other people. Taking care of other people and that’s one of the main reasons I want to make sure they are taken care of as well,” Estrada said.
High winds and heavy rain are believed to have caused the collapse. Five other workers were injured in the incident.
