This Monday marked one year of the death of nine people when the wall northwest side of overpass from the avenue February 27 with Máximo Gómez because of the rainsand its painful consequences in the lives of family members and society remain present.
The tragedy It involved three nationalities: Dominican, Haitian and Puerto Rican, to whom fate extinguished their happiness and brought pain to their relatives and sorrow to their fellow citizens. The rains caused by a tropical disturbance were the cause of the tragedy by infiltrating the walls of the road structure until demolishing them.
Among the victims There was a couple that came to the country on vacation from Puerto Rico, a retired military doctor identified as Eduardo Cabrera Castillo, Omar Avilés Méndez and his daughter Solange Méndez, who had recently gotten married; Ramón Martínez and Awilda Sánchez, parents of María Nereida Martínez, who was pregnant and Bonheur Dorvilien (Bonel), of Haitian origin.
Despite the efforts made, Free Diary could only contact the relatives of one of the deceased to talk with them one year after the fateful event.
Babylove Dorvilien (Baby), 35 years old, was the wife of Bonheur Dorvilien (Bonel), who left four orphaned children aged 12, 10, 6 and one year old, but was also pregnant at the time of tragedy of a girl who is now eight months old.
For her and her family It has been a year of many sadness because Bonel was the soul of the family. Children cry sometimes because of absence of his father. They live in poverty, but as their mother says, they, despite their young age, are aware of the precariousness and do not demand more than the basics.
The mother and her children are staying in a neighbor’s house, without a bed or other belongings that were damaged by the recent rains, while a new block house is being built for them. In the house where they lived before they covered themselves with a tarp.
It’s that people supportive They have helped them build their house with donations. The Government, as a result of the event, promised to build a house familybut he did not comply. A man named José Zapata and a woman named Cecilia are the ones who have helped them the most with the construction of the home.
Babylove is a woman Christian and always prays for everyone who has helped her, mainly for Zapata and Cecilia and thanks Free Diary because it was that he made his situation known.
The house is already built, but the floor of the living room, kitchen, hallways and bathrooms are missing; the placement of the sanitary system, in addition to beds and utensils.
A tragedy that could be repeated
During the descent that the minister of Public worksDeligne Ascención, to the place where the wall collapsed, on December 6 of last year, reported that Constructora Estrella had been hired to rebuild the collapsed part and apply the engineering to guarantee security in the place, work that was done at a cost of 250 million pesos.
He reported that the remaining seven overpasses would also be intervened for reinforce them and avoid a new tragedybut a year has passed and no work has been done on the others, which has generated insecurity and uncertainty between citizens every time it rains considerately.
Valentín Polanco, is a corridor user February 27 and realize that every time it rains transit for him wall center of the avenue, remembering the tragedy on November 18 of last year, while Sofía Alvarado told Free Diarywho when it rains prefers to travel “above” because she feels safer.
Free Diary contacted the Ministry of Public works to know the plans it has in the process of reinforcing the overpasses, but it was not possible to obtain a reaction on the matter