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The Cuban René Marquetti, who had arrived in Costa Rica just two months earlier with his wife in search of a better life, tragically died on Wednesday after being crushed by a trailer's container while working on Route 32 in the province of Limón.
According to the newspaper , Marquetti worked for the China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), which was responsible for the expansion works on that road. The truck, traveling at high speed, lost control and overturned, causing the container to fall on the workers at the site.
The impact was fatal for Marquetti and his companion Didier García Brenes, a 53-year-old Costa Rican from Jicaral de Puntarenas, described by his family as a hardworking man who was beloved in his community, according to a report by CRHoy.
The Cuban's nephew, Yordanys Tamayo, told La Teja that his uncle "had fled from a dictatorship that was oppressing him" and that he and his wife had sought refuge in Costa Rica with the hope of starting a new life. "He had only been here for two months... and just one month working at the company," he lamented.
One of the survivors, Roberto Barrantes, that the container passed "practically over him" and that he only managed to save himself by jumping into a ditch. "It was as if God told me: 'Jump there, because you will fit'," he recalled, still moved by the tragedy.
Traffic authorities believe that the accident was caused by excessive speeding, and the case is currently under investigation by the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ).
Family members and colleagues have expressed their sorrow over the loss of both workers. “We will remember him as the best person there ever was; everyone who knew him will speak well of him,” said the Cuban's nephew, who also confirmed that the family is raising funds to repatriate René’s body to Cuba, with the hope of giving him a burial in the land where he was born.
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