A North Texas family is seeking answers, trying to figure out how their matriarch died. In February, Elena Rios died in a forklift accident at a Walmart distribution center in Fort Worth.
Rios loved to be with her family.
Granddaughter Danielle Rios said her grandma, for example, helped her shop for her quinceañera dress and prom dress.
“She took me to the casino for my first time," Danielle chuckled. "We did a lot together, every weekend."
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"My mom was everything to me, my siblings, to my kids...to the rest of the grandkids," said Bianca Villanueva.
Rios worked at the Walmart distribution center on Beach St. in Fort Worth. On Friday, Feb. 16, she was supposed to work a half day.
“She was going to meet me and we were going to go to my niece’s softball game. And that didn’t even happen," Villanueva said.
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First responders said they found Rios pinned between a forklift and a large storage rack around 6:00 a.m. They said she was operating a forklift at the time.
“I want to know what happened," Villanueva said. “I miss her. And I just want to know why."
A Walmart spokesperson said they're conducting their own internal investigation.
"Our deepest condolences go out to Elena’s family. We are conducting an internal investigation and cooperating with OSHA. At Walmart, the safety and well-being of all our associates is our top priority," the spokesperson wrote in an email to NBC 5.
OSHA told NBC 5 their investigation is still active and ongoing.
Villanueva said she wasn't notified of her mother's death until 11 a.m., after already seeing it on the news and calling Walmart.
“Why wasn’t I notified if I am on her emergency contact?” she asked.
The Rios family said they're speaking up now, nearly a month after their matriarch's death because they want to be heard.
“I feel angry. I feel sad. I feel lost, I feel numb," Villanueva said.
They're now working with an attorney to help find those answers.
“Right now, we’re hurting," Villanueva said. “We have questions as to what happened. No answers, yet.”
Danielle is hanging on to her last memory of her grandma, who got to be with those she loved the night before she died: A chance sleepover.
“I’m glad that I stayed that night and got to see her one more time and tell her goodnight, and see you tomorrow. Or else, she would have spent her last night by herself," Danielle said.
The family has a website set up to ask the public for leads and any information about Elena Rios' fatal accident.
