Funeral attendees were left horrified after a platform collapsed, leading to pallbearers falling into a grave.
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According to local media outlet ABC 6, the incident happened at the funeral for Benjamin Aviles at the Greenmount Cemetery in North Philadelphia earlier this month. As the pallbearers were carrying Aviles to his final resting place, the platform above the burial site collapsed, leading to them falling in.
While speaking to ABC 6 about what happened, Aviles’ stepdaughter, Maribelle Rodriguez, said, “It was just a horrible incident that happened at a bad moment.”
She then shared that the pallbearers all suffered injuries in their legs, hands, and backs. Unfortunately, Aviles’ son experienced significant injuries. “The casket lay on top of him,” Rodriguez revealed. “And he was out like a light with his face in the mud.”
The Deceased’s Family Blames the Funeral Home and Cemetery for the Pallbearer Platform Collapse Incident
Rodriguez and her family blame both Greenmount Cemetery and the Rodriguez Funeral Home (no relation) for what she described as “subpar conditions” for the burial.
“The whole thing was trembling,” she then said about the platform. “It was wobbly, the wood was all wet and soaked.”
Rodriguez said the funeral home and cemetery should apologize for the incident. “There should be some reimbursement,” she noted. ‘Being that the ceremony was interrupted; nothing was done properly.”
Aviles passed away late last month following complications related to heart issues. He was 61.
Along with Rodriguez and his son, Aviles is survived by his wife Gloria, another stepdaughter, his brother, and sisters.