A man was killed in Arizona after the warehouse he worked in collapsed, leaving behind a son born just two weeks earlier.
The Arizona man, presumptively identified by authorities as Oswaldo Antonio Montoya Torres, was working the night shift at the Freeport warehouse on July 24 when a downburst hit. The sudden gust of wind caused the warehouse’s side to cave in. While others escaped, Torres was unfortunately entrapped within the rubble of the collapse.
On July 27, Phoenix Fire Capt. Todd Keller announced that they had recovered a body they believed to be Torres. Keller stated that firemen searched for Torres’ body for three days, working 12-hour shifts each time. They used trained K-9s, drones, and heavy-duty cranes to navigate through the wreckage, allegedly moving around 40,000 pounds of concrete before discovering a body.
Captain Keller said during a press conference that the police are working with the medical examiner to confirm the identity of the victim.
“This is not the outcome we wanted,” he added in the statement.
22-Year-Old Arizona Man Was a New Father
Torres, who was 22, had reportedly just become a father to a baby boy two weeks before the incident occurred.
“His partner, she said that he would always call her during work to see his baby, ‘What’s he doing? Send me a picture,’ ” Torres’s sister, Judith, told Fox affiliate KSAZ. His other sister, Marian, said he considered his son his “little treasure.”
The young father’s sisters say they are still processing the loss of their brother. “God is giving us strength. He’s giving us the strength,” said Marian. “This is a very hard moment, but we feel him. He’s with us.”