Five Cubans who had rebuilt their lives in the United States died on Sunday when a cargo plane from Amazon went off the runway at Miami International Airport and struck the van they were traveling in after finishing their workday.
Behind the names of the victims were parents, grandparents, and workers who supported their families both in and outside of the United States. According to a report by The New York Times, they all worked for Professional Ocean Service Corporation, an airport cleaning company.
The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office identified the deceased as Javierky Reyes Quevedo, 47; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; Rolando Alemán León, 55; Yoel Rodríguez Naranjo, 53; and Julio C. Pineda, 75.
The five were traveling with two other companions in a van after finishing an eight-hour shift when the Boeing 767-300, operated by 21 Air for Amazon, crossed a perimeter fence and a track before crashing into the vehicle.
Javierky Reyes Quevedo had arrived in Miami in 2019 from Guanabacoa, Havana. He was saving to travel to Cuba in December to celebrate his daughter's 15th birthday, whom he had not seen in eight years.
He also provided financial support to his 69-year-old mother, who is hospitalized on the island.
His friend Emilio Varó remembered him with a phrase that reflects the emptiness left by his death: "My best friend, the only one I have in this country."
Rolando Alemán León, originally from Cienfuegos, had been working for the company since January. He planned to move in with his partner to a house they had both purchased in the Tampa area.
" He was very family-oriented, he loved his family very much", his sister told Telemundo 51 from Cienfuegos.
Yameli Mora, her partner in Miami, summarized the tragedy for her loved ones: "We have no words to explain so much pain."
Julio C. Pineda, aged 75 and the only one for whom we have not found photographs, was the oldest of the deceased. He arrived in the United States from Cuba in May 2001 and had two children.
His neighbors remember him as a cheerful man, fond of telling jokes and performing magic tricks. "They called him the Magician," one of them said.
Yoel Rodríguez Naranjo arrived in the United States in 2011 and worked in various jobs for 14 years to support his family.
On Sunday, he was supposed to return home after his shift, which started at six in the morning. When he didn't arrive, his wife, Yaraisi Santiso Morejón, began to send him messages. Upon noticing he wasn't responding, she found the first news reports about the accident.
This Wednesday, Santiso filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Amazon, 21 Air, and the two pilots of the plane, seeking compensation of over $50,000.
The family of Carlos Acosta Fajardo described him, through a statement released by his lawyers, as "an extraordinary human being, a loving husband, a devoted son, a cherished friend, and a valued colleague."
Former colleagues and friends also turned to social media to bid him farewell after learning of his death.
Aymara Machado, who claimed to have worked alongside him at a bank branch, recalled that they first shared studies and then work life. She described him as a "good friend" and highlighted the various family roles that accompanied his life: "son, uncle, and even great-uncle."
"Your departure has caused me great pain; life is unfair," wrote Machado before sending his condolences to family and friends.
Another post, shared by Fernando Suárez, bid him farewell with "may perpetual light shine upon him."
Janette Suárez, president of Professional Ocean Service, requested that the victims not be remembered solely as workers who were at the site of the accident.
"When you sit on the plane, you don't realize the work they do. They have lives. They are people: parents, grandparents, uncles," he stated.
Two remain hospitalized
The other two workers traveling in the van, Ridoel Averhoff Díaz, 32, and Roosevelt Sebastián Perdomo Torres, 36, survived the accident and remain hospitalized, according to the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office.
Díaz is in critical condition, while Torres is stable.
Eugenio Corredor, 79 years old, remains hospitalized. He was traveling in a Toyota that was involved in the accident and is in critical condition.
The Miami Herald identified the pilots of the Boeing 767-300 as Joseph Carroll, 55, and Jaime Filipe Silva Molina, 37, after cross-referencing the names provided by the Sheriff's Office with pilot records from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Carroll serves as a pilot and captain for 21 Air, the cargo company operating the flight for Amazon, while Silva Molina is listed as the first officer of the airline. According to his professional profile cited by the newspaper, the latter studied aerospace engineering in Colombia and conducts domestic and international flights for the company.
The National Transportation Safety Board recovered the black boxes from the plane and began interviewing the crew on Wednesday as part of the investigation to determine what caused the aircraft to leave the runway.
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