Man Struck And Killed By Falling Roll Gate In The Bronx
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Bronx neighborhood is in mourning after a prominent fixture in the community was struck and killed by a falling roll gate Friday morning.
A makeshift memorial has been growing for 79-year-old Alfredo Thiebaud on St. Anne's Avenue.
Investigators said just before 6 a.m., Thiebaud was opening up his electric security gate outside of his business when it apparently came crashing down.
"It just fell right down," said Kerry Hibbert. "He didn't get a chance."
Samuel Rosas was the first to find him.
Man Struck And Killed By Falling Roll Gate In The Bronx
"His eyes were closed and I tried to ask him if he need help and he didn't response and passed away," Rosas told CBS 2's Janelle Burrell. "I wouldn't wish to be crushed like that on no one."
Thiebaud was an immigrant from Honduras who started a company called Delicioso Coco Helado in 1978.
The company made frozen ices, the slushy summer treats often sold on street corners, and grew to become one of the main suppliers for vendors across the city.
Thiebaud was a fixture in the community and even as he approached 80, he continued to work hard at the family business, employing people in the neighborhood and doing whatever he could to give back.
"He started from the bottom and worked to the top," said neighbor Guido Carbuccia. "He was a really hard worker."
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz released a statement calling Thiebaud "among our borough's greatest humanitarians."
"Alfredo Thiebaud was a great man and a great friend and this tragic accident has deprived us of one of the best," Diaz said.
Chamber of Commerce President Lenny Caro called Thiebaud "an institution."
"He's been an entrepreneur by creating jobs on the Bronx," he told 1010 WINS' Al Jones. "The Bronx has not only lost a great human being, but a great business man as well."
Lovedones told CBS 2's Janelle Burrell that the pain is deep.
"I can't believe this happened. I still can't believe this happened," Carbuccia said.
Investigators were pouring through surveillance video on Friday, working to determine why the gate crushed Thiebaud.
Friends say Thiebaud had four daughters who helped him run the family business.
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