The children of Rolando Alemán León, one of the five Cuban victims of the Amazon cargo plane accident at Miami International Airport, spoke publicly this week to share their grief and demand accountability.
Duviel Alemán, 32 years old, granted an interview to Univision and participated in a press conference this Thursday at the offices of the law firm Goldberg & Rosen in downtown Miami.
Her sister Aylen Alemán, who lives in Brazil, joined that same conference via Zoom.
Rolando Alemán León, 55 years old, originally from Cruces, Cienfuegos, died on September 6 when a Boeing 767-300 operated by 21 Air for Amazon Air overshot runway 30 at the airport and struck the van carrying seven employees from the aircraft cleaning company Professional Ocean Service Corp.
Alongside him, four other Cuban workers also passed away: Yoel Rodríguez Naranjo, Julio César Pineda Amiot, Carlos Acosta Fajardo, and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo.
The son who should have been in that truck
The testimony of Duviel has a particularly heart-wrenching dimension: he was supposed to be working alongside his father that day, but a week earlier he had undergone appendicitis surgery, and his doctor ordered him to take the day off.
“I have sat next to him in the van. That was my seat, always. We even had assigned seats. Side of the van, front seat”, he recounted in the interview with Univision.
The last time he saw his father in person was at the hospital exit.
"The last time I saw him in person was when he came to pick me up from the hospital after I was discharged," she recounted.
Since then, she carries what her lawyer, Judd Rosen, describes as survivor's guilt.
"This greatly worsens the loss. It is an important aspect of our case.", said Rosen in statements reported by Local 10.
More than three weeks after the accident, Duviel has not been able to return to work.
When asked how he feels knowing he could have died, he replied: "At first, I felt bad." But the support of his family helped him find a way forward.
"I decided that I would try to move forward," she stated; and added that "my father would have wanted me to be here," seeking justice.
About Rolando, she said while holding back tears: "He was a wonderful person. Every time I called him to say I had a problem, he would come right away and offer to help."
And she added: “I want the world to know that he was a very good person.”
Father and son had arrived in Miami from Cuba about 10 years ago "with the hope of a better future."
Before emigrating, Rolando was a beloved mailman in Cruces, Cienfuegos, and had started working at Professional Ocean Service Corp. in January of this year.
The daughter who couldn't say goodbye
Aylen Alemán spoke with her father every day from Brazil, and the news of the accident left her frozen.
“They took him from me. On the 6th, my life came to a standstill with that news, because just imagine, whenever something happened to me, the first person that came to my mind was my dad,” she said in the interview with Univision.
What weighs on him the most is not having been able to say goodbye.
"I always told my dad how much I loved him, and he said the same to me, but the hug. I missed the last hug with my dad," he expressed.
In the conference on Thursday, held via Zoom, she described her father as practically the center of her life, and summarized her state in a few words: “My life has come to a standstill.”
His final message was straightforward: "I want justice."
The lawsuit: negligence of Amazon and 21 Air
The Alemán family filed a wrongful death lawsuit on September 11 in the Miami-Dade Circuit Court against Amazon.com, Amazon Air, Amazon Logistics, 21 Air, Jim Crane —the controller of 21 Air and owner of the Houston Astros—, Titan Aviation Leasing, and the two pilots.
Rosen was emphatic: "Many mistakes related to aviation occurred."
And he pointed to Amazon: "If we can connect the dots and demonstrate that Amazon is involved with the contractor in a way that implies it exercises control over them, then it must assume responsibility for their actions."
The lawsuit claims that 21 Air operated with "a suppressed safety culture, exhausted crews, and aircraft that had known defects," and that "safety reports were concealed at the direction of upper management." It adds that "none of this was hidden from Amazon or the owners of the aircraft."
Almost three weeks after the incident, none of the parties had come forward. "To this day, no one has assumed any responsibility for what happened. No one has admitted any kind of mistake," Rosen stated.
Amazon issued a statement on September 13 announcing that it was suspending its collaboration with 21 Air. Its spokesperson, Kelly Nantel, indicated that the company would continue "working to support the investigation and all those affected."
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) continues to investigate the causes of the accident. The black boxes have been recovered and sent to Washington, and the official causes of the incident have not yet been determined.
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