The family of Gabriel Siguencia, 22, has come forward to speak about the construction worker killed during a Brooklyn building collapse that took the lives of many people. Siguencia, who came to the US legally to save up money for his wedding to his girlfriend and to get his son baptized, died barely a week into his work on the Brooklyn building job site when a three-story building came down into an adjacent empty lot. He was one of three construction workers who lost their lives in the incident.
During a gathering at Alianza Ecuatoriana Internacional, a nonprofit organization that supports Ecuadorian and Latin American immigrants, Siguencia's father, Luis Siguencia, delivered a statement to reporters in Spanish. Luis Siguencia described his son as "A very loving, very cheerful man, just as you see him in the video. He was always smiling. He had so much love to give. He had many years of life still ahead of him."
Luis Siguencia explained that his son was working to provide for his family. He stated, "he was working to save up money, to get married, have his child baptized, and bring them here because he didn’t want them to go through the same process he went through when I came here. He didn’t want to leave his son behind or have him end up alone, so that’s why he was working."
The father recounted his final conversation with his son, which took place just a day before the collapse because Siguencia was feeling unwell. Luis Siguencia recalled that his son said, "Dad, take care of yourself — go home and rest. Don’t work tomorrow, you need to look after your health."
Luis Siguencia remembered that his son then "gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek and said, ‘Dad, I love you. Go home and rest. Do you want me to take you? Are you sure you can drive?'" Luis Siguencia noted that his own response, "Yes, son, I’m fine. – those are the last words I remember from him."
The family remains confused regarding Siguencia's presence at the site. While the New York Post reported that Siguencia was at a neighboring construction site at 2625 Bedford Avenue, Siguencia's stepsister stated, "They weren’t supposed to be working on that building. It looks like that building had a lot of violations. We’re very confused as to why the construction was ongoing."
