Elias Gross’ wife says the arrest won’t bring him back, but at least it will do him justice. She also says that this explosion swept away not only her husband but also the dreams he had of continuing to grow his business.
Nearly two months after a tanker truck exploded at a Medley welding shop, Miami Dade police arrested Jean Paul Lauries Martinez, 42, the owner of the place, who officials say acted negligently.
The accident left 2 dead and several people in hospital.
Stacey Gross, wife of Elias Gross, one of the victims of the tragic February 21 accident, could not contain her emotion this evening when she learned that authorities had imposed two charges of manslaughter on the owner from the establishment where her husband had taken to repair his tanker truck with his associate Vincent Williams.
Gross was 59 and of Peruvian descent, with his partner he had a 14-year-old son and a 16-year-old daughter, who his mother said had to deal with a loss they never imagined would happen. would occur in this way.
“The truck needed to be re-inspected and they brought it to the scene because the tank had a hole and needed to be welded, when my husband and Vinny were walking up to their vehicle and they started welding the truck exploded and they were in the middle of everything,” Stacey says.
During the investigation, detectives discovered that Department of Transportation records show that the defendant’s business was not registered or certified with an “R” stamp, which is required by that entity to perform construction work. welding on cargo tanks.
The accused remains being held here at TGK jail without bail on these two counts of manslaughter pending his court appearance possibly this Thursday morning.