HOSPITAL WORKER WHO WAS KILLED BY RUNAWAY STEEL CYLINDER IS IDENTIFIED

Aleia Lopez, 51, died on Friday morning after a steel cylinder rolled into her
She worked at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital, near the construction zone
She has been remembered as 'a light in the lives of all that knew her'

The hospital worker who was tragically killed by a runaway steel cylinder in Pennsylvania on Friday morning has been identified.

Aleia Lopez, 51, died after she walked outside the Petersen Events Center South Oakland, Pittsburgh when she was hit in the head by the heavy object.

The mother-of-three suffered a serious head injury and was lying on the street as bystanders tried to save her life. Lopez was pronounced dead at the scene.

Her mother, Melanie Hall, said: 'Aleia was a light in the lives of all that knew her and the rock for her three children Angelia, Leilani, and Ethan.'

The scene of the accident took place within a two minute walk of her job, where she worked as an Executive assistant to the president at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital.

Pittsburgh Public Safety Public Information Officer Emily Bourne said that the heavy cylinder somehow came loose, broke through a chain-link fence and rolled down the hill from the construction site before it struck Lopez on the sidewalk.

'Obviously there is a construction site here, a large, metal steel drum that escaped from the construction site, rolled down the hill, and broke through a section of fencing,' she said.

'And the woman was on the sidewalk, street area when she was struck by the runway piece of metal.'

One of the bystanders attempted to give Lopez CPR but she was pronounced dead by the time paramedics arrived at the scene.

The construction was part of a $240million project for the University of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported.

The project, named the Victory Heights Initiative, is expected to be a 240,000 square-foot space next to the Petersen Events Center.

According to the Pitt Alumni website, the initiative is set to build 'a series of state-of-the-art athletics projects' for student athletes.

The upcoming facilities include a 3,500 seat arena for wrestling, gymnastics and volleyball, an eight-lane indoor track, and a 'cutting-edge athletic performance center.'

It is unclear what the steel cylinder was supposed to be used for in the project. DailyMail.com contacted the University of Pittsburgh for more information.

On Friday, Jared Stonesifer, the Senior Director of External Communications for the University of Pittsburgh, said that the US Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration was investigating the incident.

According to her LinkedIn page, Lopez was also a Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Patient Care Services at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital.

She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2009 with a Bachelor's degree in Social Work.

A GoFundMe page was created by her mother to raise money to help support her children and cover her funeral costs.

As of Tuesday afternoon, more than $84,000 was raised- breaking the the initial goal of $50,000.

In a Facebook post from 2018, Lopez posted a picture of her daughter posing in front of a Penn State sign.

'1st baby's 1st semester at college. Very happy for her #ANGELEIA,' Lopez captioned the post.

Netta Thomas-Bell, a friend of Lopez, shared pictures with her in a heartfelt post.

Thomas-Bell said: 'This can't be life... I tried to forget about it all night but it's not a dream. Why did something so tragic happen to such a good person?'

'We went separate ways as adults but she came thru [sic] when invited and always stayed in touch.'

Her sister, Ashley Symone Parker also posted a beautiful tribute in honor of Lopez.

'The most caring thoughtful loving & hilarious sister a girl could ask for & an amazing hard working mama. My heart is truly broken,' Parker said.

'Love you forever sweet sister. Till we meet again.'

The Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh posted a link to the GoFundMe page and said: 'A few days ago we lost Aleia Lopez, a beloved member of our UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital community.'

2024-05-07T21:05:47Z dg43tfdfdgfd