A 24-year old construction worker died on March 23 when he fell out of a construction elevator when it was on the the 19th floor of a skyscraper under construction in downtown Charlotte.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said Juventino Mata-Hernandez died while working on the project at Stonewall and Tryon streets.
The fall is being investigated by the Department of Labor and OSHA, WBTV has reported. The broadcast report said it could take months for an official cause of the incident.
“I feel really sad, and heartbroken,” Mata-Hernandez’s cousin Jose Mata told WBTV through a Spanish-English translator.
Mata says he was on the construction elevator with his cousin but hed got off on the 14th floor.
“And then (Juventino) was helping an electrician get off on the 19th floor,” he says.
Mata said he heard a commotion above him.
“The elevator started to shake,” he told the TV station. “And he was thrown out. At that point, I don’t know anymore, and I still don’t believe what happened.
“That’s when I noticed his vest was there,” Mata says. “And I didn’t even know who it was.”