Six people died and another 10 were injured on Thursday when a pedestrian bridge at Florida International University collapsed, trapping pedestrians and cars underneath a mound of concrete and rubble.
As the investigation as to the cause of the collapse continues, more information has been released on each of the victims.
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South Florida tower crane technician Brandon Brownfield was identified as one of the victims when his wife, Chelsea, posted on Facebook.
“After ten years of knowing and loving Brandon, 3 years and 11 months of marriage, and 3 beautiful girls; our love runs deep, and has been strengthened by our faith. I keep trying to find the words to share with you – our friends and family – but nothing feels right,” Chelsea wrote.
According to the Miami Herald, Brownfield was originally from Waynesboro, Virignia, and had moved down to Florida with Chelsea and their three children and bought a house in Homestead.
“The coming days are going to be excruciating, as we dig deep to find the strength we need to heal,” Chelsea continued. “Please keep us in your prayers, as I now have to find the words and the answers to tell my girls that their daddy is not coming home.”
Cuban native Rolando Fraga was a systems technician and a truck driver who lived in the area, according to the Miami Herald. He died after the bridge collapsed and concerete from the 950-ton structure landed on his Jeep Cherokee.
Alberto Arias was the co-owner of Classic Design Party Rental. He had previously lived in Havana, Cuba prior to moving to Florida and studied at Miami Dade College.
Fraga, Arias and Oswald Gonzalez were all identified on Saturday when authorities managed to remove a pair of cars from the pile of rubble.
Navarro Brown was a 37-year-old Jamaican employee at Structural Technologies VSL. His death was confirmed by the company and he was described by his cousin Appelonia Brown as a “hard-working, humble youth.” Brown did not die immediately, but rather after he had been rushed to a nearby hospital
At 18 years-old, Alex Duran was the youngest of the victims and the only one identified so far as a student at Florida International University. According to her Facebook profile, she was at FIU studying political science and had grown up in Miami-Dade County. She was driving a gray Toyota SUV on Thursday when the bridge collapsed on her.
“We’re pretty confident that no one’s left,” Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez said in a press conference on Saturday night.
Photo: Facebook/@ChelseaBrownfield
