Gomez was helping former County Commissioner Ramon Villarreal demolish a building on Villarreal’s property. Both men were working on the structure when Villarreal left to purchase drinks from a nearby store.
“Mr. Villarreal told Felix not to go back inside the building until he got back,” said Chief Deputy Sheldon Wiginton. “When Mr. Villarreal returned, the building had given way and Felix was underneath. Mr. Villarreal ran back to the store and called 911. Nobody knows why Felix went back under the building – whether to retrieve tools or something else. Only he knows and I guess we never will.”
Firemen removed the lifeless body from under the structure.
Deputy Peter Silvas was the first to get to Tivoli.
“It appears he was killed instantly,” Silvas said.
Gomez was known for helping those who needed work done.
County Commissioner Rod Bernal said he has known Gomez since their school days at Austwell-Tivoli ISD.
“He was the handyman around town who helped everybody who needed help,” Bernal said. “He was a very nice fellow.”
Justice of the Peace Lorraine Lopez arrived at the accident at 2:25 p.m. Paramedics checked vital signs one last time before Lopez pronounced him deceased.
Gomez’s grief-stricken mother insisted that she be brought to the accident site, Wiginton said.
“I told him to be careful before he left,” Mrs. Gomez said through tears. She also said that Monday was her late husband’s – Felix’s father’s – birthday.
The parish priest, Father Gabriel Coelho blessed the body before it was taken away by Moore Funeral Home. The priest said Mrs. Gomez attended daily Mass and they often prayed for Felix to find full-time work.
“He was a nice man who didn’t talk much,” Coelho said. His mother was very protective of him and concerned about him. She always asked for prayers for him.”
The priest said Mrs. Gomez lighted many candles so that her son might find a full-time job.
“He’s helped a lot of people in town and even in Victoria,” Bernal said.
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