An online fundraiser has been launched for the family of a Central Texas man who died after a house collapsed while he was working inside. The incident happened last week when severe winds caused the KB Home under construction to cave in at the Creekside at Estancia development in south Austin.
Dulce Zuniga created a GoFundMe for her father, Carmen Ramos Hortelano, 37, who she said passed away in the tragic accident on Thursday, August 27. The GoFundMe will go toward his funeral and ongoing support for Hortelano's family.
"My dad meant everything to us. He was not just a dad to me and my siblings, but a hero," Zuniga wrote in the GoFundMe description. "In the middle of that accident, he helped get three other people out and saved them, but he was the only one who did not make it," Zuniga writes. "That says so much about the kind of person he was-someone who put others first and gave his love so freely."
Authorities said that 50 to 70 mile-per-hour gusts were reported Thursday by the National Weather Service in the area, which shifted the house. Four men who were part of a framing crew were working inside the house when it collapsed, two of which managed to get out while the other two were trapped underneath the structure.
In a statement to MySA, KB Home confirmed the man who died was an employee of one of the company's subcontractors and that construction at the site was suspended immediately. Fire crews managed to save one of the workers, who was airlifted to Dell Seton Medical Center with leg and ankle injuries and has since been released, according to Travis County Fire Chief Chris Barron.
Zuniga said her father was a loving husband survived by his three adopted sons and one daughter. She described Hortelano as a giving man who "always saw good in people" and wanted to help others.
"He was even collecting things to sell to help a friend with cancer, and he would make food sales to help other people who were having a hard time financially," Zuniga said. "He held so many people together with his love, and his absence is deeply felt by all of us who depended on him and loved him."
As of Tuesday, September 1, Hortelano's GoFundMe has raised $9,505 out of its $13,000 goal. Zuniga concluded by saying they do not have his funeral arrangements finalized yet, but are seeking help in covering some of these expenses and to keep their family afloat.
"If you are able to donate or share this fundraiser, it would mean so much to me and my family," Zuniga said. "Thank you for helping us honor my dad, Carmen, and for standing with us during this painful time."
MySA reached out to the Travis County Sheriff's Office for more information on this case.
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This article originally published at Family says Austin worker helped others escape before deadly house collapse.