A fall has claimed the life of another tower climber. Police say a man fell to his death while fixing an antenna atop a water tower in Brownsville, Texas. Authorities responded to the scene and found 21-year-old Pedro Samuel Salazar on the ground.
Salazar, who was an employee of Orbit Broadband, was transported to a local hospital, but later died from his injuries. Witnesses said Salazar lost his grip and fell about 50 feet after trying to perform routine maintenance on a satellite antenna atop the water tower.
“We at Orbit are deeply sorrowed by this and our prayers go out to the individual and his family,” Richard Galvin, broadband operating director at Orbit told a local TV station. “There is an ongoing investigation and we are working with all those involved. Out of respect for his family and his coworkers, we ask for some privacy during this very difficult time.”
Investigators have order an autopsy in the case to determine what happened.
In other tragic cell tower news, the name of the fifth climber who died in an auto accident in Florida has been released.
The man was identified as Felipe Cruz, 48. Cruz’s name had been previously withheld until authorities could notify his relatives in Mexico.
The other four men were identified earlier as Apolinar Nunez, 49; Jose Gomez, 53; Santos Vega, 47; Guillermo Chavez, 24. All of the men worked for Wingate Communication.
The men were driving in a pickup truck in Brooksville, Fla., this week when a box truck ran a stop sign, hitting the truck. After impact, a large amount of transmission fluid, gear oil and motor oil leaked into a drainage area causing the truck to catch fire. The fire claimed the lives of all five tower climbers in the truck, while the two occupants of the box truck were fortunate to only have serious injuries and were airlifted to area hospitals.
Among the five men, there are seven young children left without fathers and in the difficult position of carrying on. Fortunately, the story does not end there. Wingate Communications has set up a GoFundMe memorial fund to help these children. If you would like to donate, please do so. Donations can also be made to the fund through direct deposits and ACH transactions to MIDFLORIDA, Routing Number 263179804, Memorial Account Number 121914321.
Earlier this month a Rhode Island man fell to his death from a tower in Exeter, R.I. That incident is still under investigation.
