A GoFundMe is raising money for the family of a man who was killed after his forklift at Logan International Airport in Boston got caught on something and overturned on top of him.
“Our family is facing the unimaginable and untimely passing of our beloved Raul. Words cannot explain how this loss has impacted our family,” the GoFundMe reads. “Raul was such a huge light in our family and we are all feeling the effects of him not being here.”
Raul Santiago, 51, was a subcontractor for JetBlue who tried to drive a Komastu forklift through a lower bag service entrance Tuesday that had a clearance of 8 feet, 6 inches, State Police said. The incident happened at around 3:30 p.m. on Aug. 29 in a loading area outside Terminal C, where there is no public access.
When Santiago drove through, the forklift’s backrest extension — a part of the equipment that attaches to the front and is designed to protect the operator from loads falling toward him — was lifted. The backrest was higher than the clearance height, and collided with the beam at the top of the entrance, State Police added.
Several co-workers rushed over and used an aircraft tow bar to lift the forklift enough to pull the man out from underneath. State Troopers arrived shortly after and performed CPR.
Santiago was taken to Boston Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. He died soon after.
He is being remembered as his wife’s “soulmate,” a “honorable man” and “a huge light in our family.”
“My mother has lost her soulmate, a man she thought she be spending the rest of her life with and now she has to say goodbye. Raul was a person who was there for absolutely anyone who needed help and he didn’t hesitate,” the GoFundMe reads.
He served in the U.S. Army and fought in Desert Storm, it stated.
The GoFundMe has raised $7,197 of its $10,000 goal as of Tuesday morning.
