Construction worker who fell to his death uptown had big dreams, uncle says

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Mauricio Gonzales had to pick up the few belongings his nephew left behind after police said he fell 19 stories from a construction elevator at the Legacy Union building on South Tryon Street in uptown Charlotte on May 23.

Juventino Mata-Hernandez, 24, died from the impact.

"(It is) very difficult," Gonzales said.

Gonzales said his nephew was kind, ambitious and full of big dreams of the future.

"Like a lot of people, he was chasing the American dream but never -- we expected this to happen."

Mata-Hernandez left behind a wife and a 4-year-old daughter.

Electrician quits after not feeling safe at construction site where man fell 19 floors in uptown

The Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating to find out what exactly went wrong.

Gonzales said the family has hired an attorney and wants to make sure something like this never happens again.

"You don't expect to get a notice like that,” Gonzalez said. “You expect to get a call to say, 'I'm doing well.'"

Documents from the North Carolina Department of Labor show the department inspected the construction site in November and found no violations.

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