Jorge Eliud Galindo Thompson, who was born in northwestern Honduras, was loved. He was married to Gloria Santiago, who said she is having trouble living without him.
Santiago, now a widow, said she hasn’t been able to sleep since she got the news that her 43-year-old husband had fallen to his death early Monday morning in Downtown Miami.
Santiago described Galindo Thompson in Spanish as “a humble,” “hardworking,” and “responsible” husband, who will be laid to rest with family in his native Honduras.
On social media, Galindo Thompson was proud of his Honduran Yoro roots in the city of El Progreso’s Campo Monterrey area.
On the “Progreseños 1804″ page, Facebook users wrote dozens of messages of condolences. Former school classmates and neighbors described Galindo Thompson as “a good” and “noble” man.
Galindo Thompson was proud of his work on the Interstate-395 Signature Overpass, a partnership between the Florida Department of Transportation and the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority.
Galindo Thompson had been operating heavy construction machinery for years when he was on the arched fountain bridge, a project designed by Donald Macdonald Architects for the Walsh Group’s Archer Western and The deMoya Group.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers and Miami police officers responded after Galindo Thompson fell shortly before 4 a.m. on Monday and died on Biscayne Boulevard, near Northeast Second Avenue.
According to FDOT, the work on the bridge, which started in 2019, was paused. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA; and FDOT were conducting investigations.
Santiago said she is still in denial about the tragedy.
“It still hurts me, I think about it, and I don’t accept it,” Santiago said in Spanish. “I can’t accept it.”
On Jan. 6, at the same construction site, six workers were injured when they plunged about 30 feet. They were all treated at the hospital. Five were released, but one remained hospitalized on Wednesday. The investigations are ongoing.
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