Wife of One of 4 Baltimore Bridge Victims Still Missing Says Her ‘Heart Aches’ Days After Tragedy
Jose López was one of six workers on the Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday when it was hit by a cargo ship and collapsed, according to loved ones
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The remains of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge lie in the Patapsco River.The wife of Jose López, one of four construction workers still missing after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River, described her agony days after the tragedy.
"I feel bad," Isabel Franco told the CBS affiliate WJZ in Spanish. "Only God knows how hard my heart aches. Maybe he was desperate, trying to escape."
Franco said her husband was in a concrete mixer early Tuesday morning when a cargo ship slammed into the bridge and caused it to collapse, according to CBS affiliate WJZ.
She said the construction company her husband worked for called her about four hours after the incident and delivered the heartbreaking news.
Related: Two Fathers Among Those Reported Missing After Baltimore Bridge Collapse
López moved to the United States from Guatemala 19 years ago, Franco told WJZ. His goal, according to The New York Times, was to make a better life for himself and his family.
López was among the first in his family to move to the United States, according to the paper. He took his most recent job about two years ago.
“He was there to work,” Jose’s brother Jovani López said Thursday, per the Times. “Who could’ve ever imagined this?”
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The collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge lies on top of the container ship Dali in Baltimore, Maryland, on March 29, 2024, as clean-up work begins.Related: Rebuilding Baltimore Bridge Could Take Years, Experts Say: 'Will Not Be Quick or Easy or Cheap'
Franco — who works for the Owls Corner Café in Dundalk, according to CNN — is receiving support from her employer in the wake of Tuesday’s tragedy.
A GoFundMe campaign has been started to “benefit Isabel and her kids directly” with things like “weekly expenses, monthly bills and to cover any unexpected necessities.”
López was the father of “three beautiful children, ages 17, 8 and 5,” café co-owner Josue Latorre said in the description of the online fundraiser. The family now faces “an uncertain future without their main provider and pillar of strength,” he added.
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“The Keybridge Disaster took away not just a life, but the stability and security this family once knew,” Latorre continued, noting that López was “the sole breadwinner” of his family.
MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty
The remains of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge lie in the Patapsco River after the container ship Dali struck it on March 26, in Baltimore, Maryland, on March 29, 2024, as clean-up work begins.Lilly Ordoñez, who also co-owns the café, told CNN that López’s eldest daughter is supporting her mother through this difficult time. The two younger children still do not understand the situation, she added.
“Jose was a great man, husband, and dad,” Ordoñez said Wednesday. She described the late father of three as “an extremely hard-working individual, a great provider, and family man.”
"She's desperate. She feels bad. She doesn't see anything. She doesn't know anything and, yeah, she's desperate," Ordoñez said.
Ordoñez told CNN that Franco is “barely sleeping or eating” while she sits “by the phone waiting for news.”
Lopez was also friends with Dorlian Cabrera, whose body was recovered Wednesday, Franco said, per WJZ.
The remains of Cabrera, 26, and Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, were found inside a pickup truck that was under about 25 feet of water, authorities said during a press conference.
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