Rafael Gonzalez found out his father was one of the six men who died in a construction accident building the 210 Foothill Freeway bridge while young Rafael watched live coverage of the accident on the television of his family’s Pico Rivera home.
Thursday, Oct. 17, 52 years to the day of the accident, Gonzalez and about 30 relatives and friends of the six men who died gathered in a picnic area at Hahamongna Watershed Park in Pasadena to honor their memories and unveil a freeway sign memorializing their sacrifice.
Between 17 and 35 workers were on the job around 1:15 p.m. on Oct. 17, 1952, when faulty scaffolding on a 60-foot stretch of the freeway collapsed while concrete was being poured. The bridge was being built over the Arroyo Seco in west Pasadena.
Jesus Jose Quinonez of Pasadena, Richard Calleros of Santa Ana, Frank Scharf of Upland, Robert Queenan of Alhambra, Hector Delgado Gonzalez of Pico Rivera, and James Glass of Los Angeles died in the collapse.
Crews of hundreds of people worked through the night to find workers who were buried under six feet of concrete. More than 20 people were injured.
An Assembly resolution, sponsored by Assemblymember Chris Holden, D-Pasadena, designated the North Arroyo Boulevard overcrossing in Pasadena, south of Devil’s Gate dam, as the “Arroyo Seco Victims Memorial Overpass.”
“My hope is that as drivers pass the sign each day on their daily commute they will be reminded of the bravery and sacrifice of these six men and that their memory will forever be cherished,” Holden said.
Gonzalez spoke during the ceremony describing the harrowing day when he and his family learned of his father’s death. Live television images from the collapse site captured a body covered by a blanket but for work boots, Gonzalez described. He knew immediately his father had died as he and his siblings would help his father, a cement finisher, take off those work boots when he would return home each day.
In the 1990s, Gonzalez drove over the Arroyo Seco bridge for the first time driving from his then home in Sonoma County to Pico Rivera. He broke down sobbing and had to pull over.
“As I was sitting in my car, I knew I had to bring awareness to the community that six men gave their lives building that bridge and that these men needed to be honored for their sacrifice,” Gonzalez said.
He said several efforts to memorialize the men who died went ignored by politicians until he called Holden’s office.
“It has been my mission for over 30 years to have the state honor these men,” Gonzalez said. “Believe me, it has not been easy.”
Rep. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena, commended Gonzalez on his effort to get the site memorialized as she did not know about the bridge collapse and workers’ deaths.
She said the tragedy serves as a constant reminder about the importance of ensuring safe working environments for all workers.
“No one should clock into their job fearful about whether they will survive to have dinner with their families that night,” Chu said.
She said the firm building the bridge was found to have been involved in two other bridge collapses in the previous five years.
A replica of the sign placed on the 210 Freeway was unveiled and the relatives in attendance were given miniature versions of the sign to take with them.
“Far too often we forget the working men and women, the heroes, who ensure that millions of cars are able to cross through our city and through our community,” Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo said.
